


Between the Lines

by MissMonsters2



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/F, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Romance, Supernatural - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:21:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 77,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23988781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissMonsters2/pseuds/MissMonsters2
Summary: Vampire AU. Life has changed drastically since the 1600s. Things are always on the move, and you’ve been very careful to not get on SHIELDs radar. Living on the down-low owning a café, you’re content to live out a quiet existence. That is until the Avengers enter your life.[Set after the New York Invasion, in CAWS, and goes up to AoU. Canon divergent after.]PAIRING: Steve Rogers & Fem!Reader (Platonic) / Natasha Romanoff x Fem!Reader / Wanda Maximoff x Fem!Reader / Natasha Romanoff x Fem!Reader x Wanda MaximoffWarnings: This series will contain smut(**), poly-relationship, and dark themes.
Relationships: David King/Liam King, Natasha Romanov (Marvel)/Reader, Natasha Romanov/Reader, Natasha Romanov/Reader/Wanda Maximoff, Natasha Romanov/Wanda Maximoff, Natasha/reader/wanda, Wanda Maximoff/Natasha Romanov, Wanda Maximoff/Natasha Romanov/Reader, Wanda Maximoff/Reader, WandaNat - Relationship, natasha Romanoff/reader
Comments: 87
Kudos: 359
Collections: All Eyes On You





	1. PART I

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that reader does have a name, but a fake name as you carry many aliases over the years of living. The fic is still told through 2ND POV, name is rarely used.

Life has changed drastically since the 1800s, not that it was a bad thing, of course. You did enjoy the women’s rights movement; it was such a drag back in the day. Of course, there were some downsides, too, with the rapid development of technology. In this day and age, it was much more challenging to keep yourself hidden with people constantly taking videos with their phones, and the improved surveillance cameras that were everywhere. 

Why did you want to keep yourself well hidden? 

Freedom. 

You wanted to keep your freedom, and after the alien invasion in New York, you were very aware that SHIELD was recruiting special people. Not to toot your own horn, but being a vampire felt like it fell under “special.” During the invasion, you did what you could with nearby people to ensure they weren’t crushed under the rubble or attacked, but with people like Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff, you couldn’t afford any mistakes. 

So, you’ve been laying relatively low, owning a nice small café/bookshop in town with only one other employee. 

It was nice. It was quiet. You were living your long existence in peace. 

Until Steve Rogers came into your shop. 

It seemed purely by accident as well since he looked a little lost. He came in, looking around before spotting you at the front. He looked right at you before starting to come up, looking a little sheepish. You gave him a brief smile, schooling your expression to act like you didn’t know who he was. 

“Hello, ma'am,” he softly greeted, and you almost laughed at how formal he sounded. From your own intel, you had heard about the frozen super-soldier from 1945. You supposed he was still trying to adjust. 

“Hello, sir,” you greeted back politely with a smile. “How can I help you today?" 

Steve came up to your counter with a piece of ripped paper that had some writing on it. You took a look and found that it was the bookshop a couple blocks away from your own shop and also had the name of a history book. 

"Sorry, I seem to be a little lost. Could you tell me how to this shop?” He rubbed the back of his head, and you refrained from biting your lip at how funny it was that a super soldier could make his way around an alien invasion, but defeated by poorly written directions on a piece of paper. 

You glanced again at the name of the history book and realized you had a copy of the book yourself at your shop. 

You knew that you really should’ve told Captain America how to get to the shop and sent him on his merry way. 

You really should’ve, David was going to be pissed at you, but curiosity got the better of you. You looked up at Captain America’s blue eyes and grinned. 

“Well, sir, if you’re looking for this book, I actually have a copy here. It’ll also be much cheaper than the other bookstore you’re looking for." 

Steve’s eyes lit up slightly as he put his ripped paper away. He couldn’t believe his luck today with finding this book that Banner suggested he get if he was looking for something to help catch him up. He had been circling the block many times before coming in to just ask for directions. 

What had surprised him, even more, was that you didn’t seem to recognize him. Ever since the press release about The Avengers defeating the alien invasion, he would sometimes get mobbed when walking out of the tower. It was even weirder to find out there was a museum dedicated to his whole life story. 

"Follow me." 

The voice broke him out of his chain of thought as he quickly fell in step with you. He looked over and down to see your name tag, Elaine. You were standing in front of the bookshelves, and humming as your finger skimmed through the lines of books. 

"Ah,” you grabbed a book out, “here it is." 

Turning back to him, you handed him the book, and it was the first time that he noticed you were wearing black gloves skin tight to your hand, but only starting from half your palm. 

"Thank you, miss.” He politely said, while you only smiled in return. 

“You a big history fan?” You asked, giving Steve more reason to believe that you didn’t know he was Captain America. 

“You could say that,” he vaguely said. “I’ve just started to get into it." 

You pursed your lips for a second, almost looking at the book disapprovingly in his hand. You then took the book back, surprising him. "In that case, I don’t think the book you’ve got will be a great starter." 

You turned back to the shelf and put the book back before seemingly looking for another book again. 

"What years are you looking to read and any specific topics?" 

Steve blinked and nearly stuttered. "Oh, uh, I guess anything after 1945. Maybe major events and industrial changes?" 

You smirked as you looked before pulling three books out that looked more manageable than the massive one Banner had recommended him. "In that case, I would recommend these. All of these talk about history after 1945. This one talks about major events nearly up to today’s date. This one is about how society developed and changed throughout the years, and this one talks about the technology boom, really interesting if I do say so myself. I hope you’ll find these more helpful?" 

Steven blinked as you stacked the books in his hands. It was literally everything he actually needed to help himself catch up. It made him a little suspicious at that point that maybe this woman did know who he was after all. 

"This is great, actually. I’m sure they’ll, uh, help me get started." 

You nodded. "Sure thing. Let’s get you checked out." 

When you walked back to the counter, and you noticed that Steve was trying to look at the books to skim through some parts. 

Again, you knew that you should’ve just rung the man up and sent him on his way. You could see him eyeing you as if to figure out if you knew he was Captain America. 

You really would be putting yourself at risk if he stuck around you too much, but damn, you were curious by nature. 

You turned around and nearly startled him as he came to a stop. Your hair that faded into the lighter color at the end fell delicately. 

"You know, I run a pretty unique shop here. A lot of my customers come to read the books, I don’t enforce a buying policy, per se. You’re more than welcome to take a seat and read the books to check them out to make sure they’re what you’re looking for—provided you get some coffee and maybe a dessert." 

Steve blinked at you. It was interesting, to say the least. And maybe he should’ve declined, bought the books, and went on his way. 

But the way you spoke to him, looked at him…man, he felt like a regular guy. 

"Sure,” he found himself saying. “I’ll get a medium coffee and whatever special dessert you’re serving today." 

You smiled at him. "Right away, sir. Can I get your name for the order?" 

While this confirmed that you didn’t recognize him, he was reluctant to give his name in fear that you would end up recognizing the name. 

"Steve,” he said slowly. “Steve Rogers." 

Your facial expression didn’t change as you nodded. "Nice to meet you, Steve Rogers. My name is Elaine Rosewood. I’m the owner here. Why don’t you take a seat and I’ll bring your order right over?" 

Steve grinned as you turned and walked away. 

He took a seat near the window, opening the first book delicately as he began to read. 

But there was a certain warmth in him knowing that you didn’t know who he was. 

It was nice to be just Steve Rogers to someone. 

You ran your fingers through your hair as you made his coffee and carefully plated his dessert. When you brought it over to him, he smiled slightly at you as you put it down and left. Going back to the counter, you pretended to keep busy, tending to other customers who came in or checking on your stock and machines. 

You glanced at him occasionally, and soon enough, he left. You walked over to his table and found a massive tip he overpaid for his coffee and dessert that were all gone. He had left the books neatly to the side with a small note on the table. The same piece of paper that he had brought in. 

_‘Thanks for the wonderful coffee and cheesecake. I really only got through a bit of the first book, might have to come back to check the other ones out. —Steve.'_

And that’s how you ended up seeing Captain America nearly every day. 

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

It was just another Tuesday when Steve came in again, book in hand. 

"Hey, Steve,” You greeted, already making his coffee. He was someone with a regular pattern of behavior. So, he always came at 2 PM and stayed for about an hour. 

“Hey, Elaine. Quiet today?” Steve asked as he came up to the counter, looking around and noticing there was no one else in the café. He had been coming consistently for the past two weeks, even hiding it from his fellow Avengers. It was nice to have something that just solely belonged to him. 

As the days progressed, he could get you to sit with him and chat. Sometimes it was about the books, sometimes other things. He was surprised that some of your interests overlapped, like music and movie tastes, although you seemed to have a vast variety of tastes in movies and music. Still, it made him happy when you didn’t seem lost when he mistakenly would make an old reference. A part of him wanted to ask you to dinner as a friend, to see you outside the café but he got a feeling that you would decline. As if it would be pushing the boundaries you’ve set and the safe haven they’ve created for their friendship inside the walls of your café. 

He noticed that you never asked about his job or friends, and you seemingly never really talked about that aspect of your own life. So, he just got that vibe that your friendship could only exist in this café. 

He was going to need to figure out something soon, though, because he couldn’t just keep coming to this café every day just to read. 

You gave him his cup of coffee and walked with him to a table. “How’s the book going?” You asked casually. 

“Great! I’ll probably be done soon. Just that last book you recommended left." 

You merely smiled, holding your mug. It was a thing he noticed that you always wore your black gloves. He hadn’t asked about it though, finding that it may be invasive, and he wasn’t really sure if the two of you were there yet. You caught him staring at it, though. 

"My hands get cold easily, and I’m a semi-germaphobe,” You explained with ease, and Steve nodded, looking a little sheepish and apologetic, but you merely waved it off. “I try not to things with my bare hands if possible. Last year I got really sick from touching this gross money from this girl, probably stripper money. So, really gross and in places I don’t wanna indirectly touch. Since then, gloves." 

You watched as Steve’s face scrunched up in disgust, but laughed nonetheless. You licked your lips. Lying had become second nature to you, it was inevitable with who—what you were. The stripper story was true, but you didn’t get sick. You can’t even get sick. 

The gloves were your personal preference. The thing with being a vampire was that you had a special gift. Every person you touched with your hands, you ended up seeing everything about that person. Their life story, every thought they’ve ever had, all their secrets and desires, and even their future to a certain point. For the most part, you didn’t like it. In the past, it was a useful skill in situations you needed to get yourself out of or when you needed information. But it was incredibly invasive, even if the other person didn’t know you knew everything about them. 

With Steve’s constant visit, you admitted that it was nice to talk to him. David had nearly lectured you an entire hour, but you did manage to convince him you had it under control, and if you didn’t, you would disappear. 

You could tell Steve had wanted to ask to see you outside the café setting, but you were still cautious and unsure how you fully felt about it. You didn’t think Steve liked you romantically or anything, but he enjoyed chatting with you. 

He was about to say something to you when the door chimed, signaling someone came in. They looked over to see a young girl about the age of 7 enter in. You frowned, recognizing your neighbor’s kid you were currently looking after. 

You stood up and walked over to the young girl, bending down as the kid wrapped her arms around your neck and embraced you as you lifted her up. 

"Allison, sweetheart, what are you doing here? School isn’t supposed to be out for another hour.” The young girl continued to wrap her tiny arms around your neck as she mumbled something. 

“What was that, sweetheart?” You asked, trying to pull back a little. 

“School ended early…” Her small voice rang through, most of the words vibrating against your neck. 

“And you walked here?” You asked frowning. 

Allison nodded, forcing you to pull back and give the young girl a disapproving stare. 

“Allison, you know that’s not okay. It can be dangerous out there for you to walk here alone. You need to call me so I can come to get you.” You thought about having to call the teacher to give her a long lecture about letting a damn 7-year-old go home alone. 

The young girl pouted with her bottom lip trembling slightly, showing she was thoroughly scolded. “’m sorry, Lainey." 

With that, you couldn’t stay mad too long, so you let out a sigh and rubbed the young girl’s hair affectionately to show she was forgiven. "Okay, squirt. Are you hungry? How 'bout a sandwich and some juice?" 

Allison nodded enthusiastically. You brought Allison over to Steven, who was staring at them curiously. 

"Hey, Steve. Sorry, do you mind watching her for a second while I grab her some lunch?” Steve shook his head and smiled at Allison, who shyly smiled back, leaning a little closer to you. You set down Allison in a chair and leaned down, so you were closer at eye level with the girl. 

“Okay, Allie, this is my friend Steve. He’s super nice, and I bet he’d love to hear your story about show and tell today. Why don’t you tell him, and I’ll be back in a second?” Allison looked over to Steve, who gave her that winning Captain America smile and nodded encouragingly to get the girl to talk. 

“Hi Allison, I’m Steve. Oh man, I can’t wait for you to tell me about show and tell!” He excitedly spoke, watching you smile and walk off. Allison’s eyes lit up as she launched into her story. Steve made excited sounds at the appropriate places, but he couldn’t help but wonder if this was your kid? He didn’t see a ring on your finger, though, so were you a single mom? But Allison had also called you 'Lainey,’ which didn’t seem like something a child would call their mother. 

“Are you Captain America?" 

The question caught Steven by surprise as his eyes widened. He was stunned speechless. 

"I saw you on TV before, and there’s a boy in my class named Damien, and he loves Captain America. He talks about Captain America all the time and shows us pictures!” The young girl exclaimed excitedly, nearly bouncing out of her seat. Steve’s eyes wandered to you, who had your back turned, making the sandwich and didn’t seem to have heard what they were talking about. 

He let out a small sigh of relief and turned back his attention to Allison. Putting his finger to his lip, she put her tiny hands to her own mouth and let out a soft giggle. 

“Allison, you’re an amazing gal. But Elaine doesn’t know yet. Think you can keep it a secret for me?" 

Allison seemed to ponder. "Are you gonna tell her later, though?" 

Steve paused lightly and then smiled, "Yeah, one day, but you gotta keep a secret first." 

Allison did the adorable thing where she pretended to zip her mouth, lock it, and then throw away the key, making Steve grin. 

It was the perfect timing as you came over with a sandwich with the crust cut off and a small glass of orange juice. You placed it in front of the young girl, looking at the two of them. "What’d I miss?" 

"Nothing!” Allison exclaimed, looking over at Steven, who grinned. So, maybe 7-year-olds aren’t great in being subtle, but he laughed as you raised your eyebrow but didn’t question any further. 

Once the girl had finished eating, she ran off to find a book for herself to read, and you sighed. 

“So,” Steve said after a moment, “is she yours?" 

You raised an eyebrow before chuckling as you shook your head. "Goodness, no. I wouldn’t even know how to keep up with that bundle of energy. She’s sweet, though, isn’t she?” You smiled as Steve nodded his head genuinely. 

You cleaned the crumbs back onto the plate. “Allison’s my neighbor’s kid. She’s a single mom and in the hospital right now. Won’t be discharged until next week, and since there’s no one else who can look after Allison, I offered to have her stay with me until mom’s out." 

Steve smiled, crooking his lips lopsidedly as he looked at You. "That’s awful kind of you. Do you mind me asking what her mother is in the hospital for?" 

You ran you gloved fingers through your hair and bit your lips briefly. 

"Oh…I’m sorry—you don’t have to…” Steve said, feeling guilty, but you shook your head. 

“Oh, no, it’s fine. It’s nothing serious. It was, um, the alien invasion. She got stuck under some rubble and had to be pulled out. Crushed one of her legs, but she’s going to be fine." 

Steve’s eyes bulged, and he quickly schooled his expression to look less shocked. "Oh, that’s unfortunate but glad she’s going to be okay." 

You nodded, a half-smile of your own. 

"So…” Steve started again. “Where were you during the…alien invasion?” He knew that he was asking a dangerous question that could lead him to expose his identity, but he just had to know. 

“Oh! Uh, I was out of the city, so it didn’t really affect me much,” you casually said. Steve let out a huge sigh relief he didn’t even know he was holding. 

“Oh, that’s good to hear. Did you watch the news on it?” He was essentially asking you outright if you knew about him, but you shook your head. 

“Not really. I got the gist of it. An alien invasion and a group of people handled it. That’s all I need to know. I don’t really keep up or read the news. It’s seriously depressing every time I watch or read it." 

Steve smiled, more confident now you didn’t know for sure. He quickly changed the subject to avoid you asking where or what he was doing during the invasion. 

It was going well and smoothly, both talking about their interest and trading stories. 

_'Maybe this is it,’_ Steve thought. The hour had passed by quickly, and it was time for him to leave again. 

Steven breathed a little heavily through his nose. He just needed to brave up and ask. 

They had got up, and you were walking him to the exit. Just as he was about to say something, they heard a massive bang through the back near the books. 

You immediately turned your attention it, about to walk off, but then they heard a little voice in the back. 

"I’m okay! I just dropped a book. It’s okay too! I’m gonna put it back." 

You seemed to sigh with relief and turned your attention back to Steve. Licking his lips, he tried again. 

"Listen,” he started, and then you were biting your own lips suddenly. “It’s really been great to talk with you over the past two weeks. I was wondering if maybe you wanted to grab dinner sometime?" 

"Like a date?” You asked, catching Steve by surprise once more. He blinked a couple times, the tip of his ears turning pink. 

“No, um, as friends." 

You seemed to be weighing something on your mind, and Steve held his breath, ready to rescind his offer, but then you nodded. 

"Okay, we can have dinner." 

Steve smiled and nodded. It did take some of the pressure off himself. He liked being friends with you. 

"Alright, um, how about tomorrow for casual dinner, I can pick you up? What time would be good?" 

"Tomorrow is fine. Meet me here at 7 PM.” You instructed; you didn’t want Steve to know where you lived. Plus, your other employee would be in tomorrow to close. 

“Okay, sounds great!” Steve said, smiling wide. 

“See you tomorrow, Steve,” You said, waving goodbye to him as he left. 

Oh man, David was _really_ going to chew your ass out.


	2. Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter stage left; Natasha.

“This is really good, how’d you know about this place?" 

You grinned as you watched Steve take a massive bite from his steak, groaning slightly in delight as he did. You had ordered yourself a steak and was in the process of cutting up, eating it slowly. 

"Sarah, the employee at my shop, recommended it. She says her boyfriend loves it here, so I thought it might be a great place to try. I’m glad you like it. The steak just melts, hey?" 

Steve nodded as he swallowed. You thought it was funny as he was a little confused, and maybe even a little grossed out when you had gotten your steak blue rare. But if you were going to eat a steak, you might as well get it as rare as possible. The food itself tasted great, but you knew that even if you felt full, you couldn’t get any of the nutrients from the meal. The venom would break down the food completely, taking nothing, and you would have to feed later on tonight. 

You had also picked this restaurant because it was further from the Stark Tower. You were right that David was entirely pissed you were taking it as far as you were, but when you’re alone for centuries, being around someone felt amazing. 

The ‘friend date’ was going well. They could talk and laugh, ask questions that allowed them to get to know each other more without revealing anything too deep. 

Still, something was missing, and you couldn’t put your finger on it. Maybe it’s been too long since you’ve had a human friend? Was it because everything about you guys was fake since you were both hiding things from each other? 

They walked through Central Park, enjoying the beautiful weather. They were currently debating who was more iconic; Ella Fitzgerald or Louis Daniel Armstrong. 

"Oh man, I might have to ban you from the café if you insist on Armstrong." 

Steve laughed as he shook his head. "C'mon, he has so many classics!" 

” _Shh_ , Steve. I will hear no more of this nonsense from you,“ you said with a wag of your finger at him. Steve laughed softly once more, his eyes softening as they continued to walk. 

Miraculously, the rest of the night continued on as normal. Steve was dropping you back at the café so you could get your car and then go relieve the babysitter you had gotten for Allison. Like a gentleman, Steve walked you to your vehicle to ensure you would get in safely. 

You turned on your engine with the car starter, turning back to Steve. You did, you really did like Steve as a friend. He was funny, gentlemanly, and definitely not hard on the eyes. Yet, for some reason, you felt like you there was something off. It wasn’t like you hadn’t been in contact with humans before while keeping your secret. You couldn’t understand. 

"Thanks for coming out with me tonight,” Steve said, almost too politely, and it made you chuckle. 

“It was lovely,” you replied, watching as Steve’s eyes crinkled at the corners from smiling. You sighed wistfully. Stepping forward, you put your hand gently on Steve’s cheek, tippy-toeing to kiss him softly on his cheek. His face immediately flushed red, traveling all the way up to the tips of his ears. 

“Goodnight, Steve, see you later.” With that, you got into your car, driving off. 

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

“Thanks again,” you said as you handed the money to the babysitter. The young lady waved it off and left. Allison was thankfully already put to the bed by the sitter, and you quietly checked on the young girl to make sure everything was fine. Once you were satisfied, you shut the door and made your way to the basement. 

Down there, there was a fridge that had an electronic passcode lock on it. Once unlocked, you grabbed a bag filled with blood in it out. You used your teeth to tear the corner and tipped the bag into your mouth. After the long swig, you lowered the bag, sighing as you sat down and leaned against the freezer.

Suddenly, there was vibrating in your pocket, and you pulled the phone out, answering it without even looking. 

“Hey, David." 

_"How’d the hangout go?”_ He immediately asked, a slightly disapproving tone in his voice. You didn’t even dignify it with an answer. Instead, you took another mouthful of the blood bag. 

“Do you have enough supply over there, David? If not, I’ll send another shipment over from the hospital to you." 

David makes a noncommittal sound, indicating he’s fine, so you move on. "Any updates then? Not like you to call me to check on my personal life." 

David snorts, _"Only when I think it’ll put you at risk. But, you’re right. I do have something."_

You sat up, readjusting yourself to sit straighter. You quickly finished your bag of blood, wiping your lips slightly.

 _"Got two things for you. First, I’ve got some intel that HYDRA has an escapee. They call him The Winter Soldier, a man with a metal arm,”_ David says as you switch the phone to your other ear. 

“Where was he last seen?" 

_"Europe, but it looks like he’s heading towards America."_

You hum. You had heard about HYDRA over the years, it was another organization that you needed to keep an eye on, lest you wanted to be caught by them. You never had to deal with them directly as to when they became a problem, Captain America came to be and 'handled’ it. 

Maybe that was the problem. It was difficult to be friends with Steve, knowing you couldn’t talk to him about anything when you had more in common than just the average person. Was it guilt that was stopping you? 

"Keep me updated on that situation. Let me know if you catch sight of him,” you said, getting up to throw out the empty bag before making your way to your private bar to pour yourself a drink. 

_“Already surveilling. Second thing…I think I’ve found the descendants of Tatyana."_

Your grip slipped slightly, spilling the liqueur out of your glass slightly. 

"What?” You breathe out shakily. 

_“They’re in Sokovia. I’m waiting for a little more intel to come in."_

"Send me everything you have, and the second you get more,” you breathe steadily, wiping the spilled liqueur and resumed your pouring. 

With nothing left, David hangs up. 

_Tatyana…_

Flashes of silk and a peal of feminine laughter passed through you. You quickly shut it out and downed your drink. 

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

“Everyone clear on what their duties are?" 

With a collective yes, Fury had ended the meeting. The aftermath of the invasion was still affecting many people. Tony had set up a foundation for families who were directly affected by the invasion and donated millions. Bruce had a side research assignment for SHIELD while helping with the cleanup when he could. Thor had left immediately with Loki, and they were unsure when he would return. Steve was doing a lot of interviews and press reviews to help the Avengers look better in the public’s eye. As Nat and Clint were spies, they needed to keep unknown to the public, so Nat went back to being Pepper’s PA, and Clint, well Clint left. 

Steve was already leaving, thinking about heading over to the Café to see you. He didn’t have anything scheduled until tomorrow, and he had a feeling after that, he would be tied up for a while. As he was walking down the hall, Natasha came up next to him and fell in step. 

"Where are you heading to?” She asks casually.

“Just out.”

“To the place you’ve been mysteriously disappearing to every day for the last two weeks?" 

Steve looked surprised. "Not every day…" 

He looked around to make sure no one else is there. A part of him was still wary about Natasha, but he was resolved to place his faith in her and trusted her, and she trusted him. 

"I met a girl at a café two weeks ago, you know, when Bruce recommended me that book?” He says as he turned his attention back to her. 

“Dating?” She says as if almost impressed by it.

Steve shook his head. “No, she doesn’t know I’m Captain America. We’re just friends.”

“Because she doesn’t see you like that?” Natasha asked. 

Steve rubbed the back of his head.

“Both of us don’t see each other like that." 

Natasha raised an eyebrow, looking unimpressed, but Steve waved it off. "It’s fine. I’m not looking to date anyways." 

She looked like she wanted to say more, but before Natasha could ask anything else, an intern interrupts them, saying she needed Steve. 

Natasha stopped walking, clicked her tongue as she tapped her foot and looked at Steve walking off with the intern. 

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

Steve wasn’t able to visit You for a few days due to all the PR he had to do, but now that he was back, he planned and seeing you right away. The moment he entered, he noticed a familiar redhead sitting with you. 

There Natasha was, sitting at a table with you, drink in her hand as they chatted away. He furrowed his brows and frowned as he walked over to them, grabbing their attention.

Natasha smirked at him, and he gave her a look. You called out to him, and he nodded his head at you but turned to Natasha. 

"What are you doing here?" 

You looked surprised as you looked between the two of them. "Oh, you know Miss Rushman here?" 

"Natalie,” Natasha corrected. Steve gave her another look that she shrugged off. 

“We’re acquaintances,” she explains easily, keeping Steve’s secret. You hum a small 'o,’ and it’s silent again. It seems almost tense for a second before Natasha gets up, stating she’s got to go back to work. 

“It was great meeting you, Natalie. Come by again for life-changing coffee,” You bid her goodbye, getting a brief smile from the redhead. 

Once Natasha is gone, you turn back to Steve, “Your acquaintance is nice." 

Steve only laughed awkwardly. 

He had his peaceful hour with you before leaving. When he got back to the tower, he found that it was only him, Tony, and Bruce in the building. 

It wasn’t until late evening that Natasha returned. 

"What the hell was that today?” Steve immediately asked, catching Natasha in the common area kitchen while no one else was around. It looked like Natasha had freshly showered and changed, coming in to get a late-night snack. 

Natasha sighed as she faced Steve and uncrossed her arms. “Look, I’m sorry, Steve, but I just want to make sure she’s safe for you, okay?" 

Steve’s face softened, and he was pacified by Natasha’s underlying words that she cared about him, and this came from a place of concern. 

"So,” he says after a moment. “What did you think?" 

He watched as Natasha shifted, hesitating to tell him what she honestly thought, but with the look on his face, she knew better than to lie to him about it. 

"There’s something off about her,” Natasha finally says, shifting her weight onto one foot and crossing her arms. 

“Off about her?” Steve questions with a raise of his eyebrow. “Like…secretly…”

He had heard of Tony talking about his own past experiences before he had met Pepper. Something about aborting if it’s a stage 5 clinger. 

“No,” Natasha replied, rolling her eyes slightly. 

“I mean, she’s hiding something." 

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

There was a degree of surprise for you when Black Widow had shown up at your café. Though, you supposed it was bound to happen with Steve showing up as often as he was. You just expected it to be another Avenger. 

When you heard about the Avengers Initiative starting up from David’s intel, he had sent you files on the candidates. Natasha Romanoff’s file, as expected, had nearly nothing in it. You got her birth name, occupation, and a really shoddy photo from a street camera. 

This was going to be a problem, you thought. David really would want you to disappear if Black Widow was going to be involved. You would have to convince David that disappearing would be even more suspicious and warrant the spy to look more deeply into you if you left without a trace. You just needed to be normal because even if she tried to look you up, nothing out of the ordinary would come up anyway. 

You put on a friendly face as Natasha came up to the counter. "Hello, how what can I get you today?" 

"Just looking for a little pick me up, but not something that will have my hands shaking.” Her voice was husky, and you licked your lips. 

“Sounds like a long day,” you said, starting to make the drink. You had a lot of customers who came through asking for something different like it was a bar, but you didn’t mind. 

There was a delicate but husky chuckle in return, “And it’s not even halfway through." 

"Name for the drink?" 

"Natalie." 

You hummed quietly, writing on the cup in a cursive font. 

There wasn’t much more chatting after that as you focused on making the drink. Natasha noticed right away walking in that you were beautiful, there were no physical imperfections about you. Even the way your hair fell seemed to fall perfectly in place. It was hard to place your age, but there was something youthful about you. Natasha had also noticed the strip of flour on your cheek. 

"Guessing hectic day for yourself?” Natasha said, breaking the silence. She watched as your brows furrowed with your lip slightly jutted out in a pout as you looked at the redhead. 

When Natasha pointed to her own cheek to mirror where it would be on you, and you quickly swiped the area with your gloved fingertip and then checked with a small laugh. 

“Oh, yeah. My one and only employee has called in sick today. I’m starting to think I should hire another one." 

Natasha tilted her head, "Oh, you own this place?" 

"Sure do! I’m Elaine. Nice little shindig I got here, right?” You grinned, and Natasha smirked in return. 

“I’ll reserve my thoughts until I try the drink." 

You lightly laughed, putting the finished drink in front of the redhead. "Fair enough, and not to toot my own horn, but this drink is going to give you a happiness you’ll never be able to achieve anywhere else. If that’s the case, this tip jar could use some friends." 

Natasha gave a friendly snort, not replying as she took a sip and immediately moaned involuntarily. 

"Oh shit, is there crack in this?" 

You let out a burst of full laughter, the kind that reminded Natasha of a warm day in a meadow—whatever that means. 

"No crack, unfortunately, but it will get you through the day without your heart going 100 miles a minute." 

Natasha smiled slightly, pulling out a Benjamin and throwing it in the tip jar, clearly overpaying for the drink, but you didn’t say anything and grinned.

The redhead looked around, finding a lot of shelves with books on them on the other side of the café. 

"Bookstore as well? Busy, busy, I see." 

You hummed, "Sort of. I don’t really make people buy books here. There’s a college nearby, and I have a lot of students come here. I get a lot of textbooks and then let students rent them out. They put a security deposit on the book, which is 100% refundable provided the book isn’t damaged." 

"Quite the lucrative business you’ve got going on,” Natasha said, mildly impressed, and you shrugged. 

“Well, I’m not too sure what an accounting major would do with an Intro to Anthropology textbook if they had to keep it, so I guess everyone wins in this situation." 

Somehow after that, they had moved over to the table to continue talking, most of it being light banter. 

Still, Natasha found you odd. As a master conversationalist, she recognized that you had the same skill, which meant that while you were incredibly talkative, there was nothing personal about their conversations. There was no asking where Natalie worked, or what she was doing around this neighborhood since she wasn’t a regular. She could see this was not your goal to pry for information.

There was the thing with the gloves as well, but Natasha did not ask, and you did not explain even if you found Natasha staring. 

After she left when Steve showed up, Natasha looked back at the café on the corner of the street. 

She had to admit, she did not mind you; she was curious if anything. She could see why Steve would like hanging around you, but you did not give any vibes that indicated to Natasha that you cared all that much. 

Still, Steve liked you, and Steve was family. 

And she would always protect her family. 


	3. Part III

The following week was routine once more. Natasha didn’t revisit the café, which you couldn’t tell if you felt relief or not. David did lecture that you had to be more careful because it was most likely that Black Widow was looking into your background. He wasn’t worried she’d find anything, but one can never be too careful.

Steve stopped by the café less too, as they now hung out outside the café more regularly. You had finally given in and hired two more people to the café and promoted Sarah to the manager position, so you didn’t have to spend too much time there yourself. You essentially only came in when you knew Steve was going to be in…or maybe on the off chance Natasha would come in again.

Allison’s mother was finally discharged from the hospital, but with all the missed time from work, you still found yourself looking after the young girl while her mother picked up extra shifts—not that you minded.

It was currently the weekend, and you had planned to take Allison to the park for a picnic and some games. You had asked Steve to tag along if he wasn’t busy, but it turns out that he did have work that day. He seemed really crushed that he wasn’t going to be able to go, but you had assured him it would be fine, and they could get together another time.

It was strange. They weren’t dating or anything, definitely just friends. But the last time they had gone out together with Allison, the number of strangers who commented they looked like a beautiful family made you panic a bit, especially with the wistful look on Steve’s face. It seemed like he was thinking about other things as people made those comments, though, not necessarily wistful to have a family with _you_.

And you knew—about this lost love, about Peggy Carter. 

The poor man seemed unable to move on while wanting to, but then feeling guilty about it. Since you were supposed to pretend not to know anything, it wasn’t like you could talk to him about it. So, they were stuck in this weird limbo.

“Lainey, can we please get peaches?" 

You immediately brought your attention back to Allison, who you had in your shopping cart with multiple things strewn in for their picnic date. 

You grinned at the kid, "Alright, put the puppy face away, you’re killing me here. We can definitely get some peaches." 

As the two of you stood in front of the peaches, you meticulously picked out peaches as Allison animatedly recalled a story. 

"Really? How interesting,” you hummed to Allison. 

“Quite a cute one you’ve got there." 

The gruff voice brought your attention away from the peach. You looked up to see a man in his late 30s standing next to your cart with a basket. 

"Thanks,” you said politely but curt. 

“My name’s Glenn. I just wanted to say hi,” He gave you a flirty grin and held out his hand. 

“Hi,” you shook his hand politely as he stared at your gloved hands. 

“Cold?” He asked. 

“Something like that,” you said with a wry grin. 

“Anyways,” you said with an eyebrow raised at the stranger, “We’ve got to head off now, nice to meet you." 

Just as you were turning away with the cart, the man grabbed you by the arm to stop you. 

"Wait!" 

You clenched her jaw, turning back to him, eyes darkening, and just as you were about to speak a command, someone grabbed his arm and gripped it tightly enough to make the man let go. You blinked, your eyes clearing as you looked over to see Natasha standing there, her jaw set in a tight line and eyes entirely calm. 

"I think you should leave now,” her voice was low, and she gripped the man’s arms tightly enough for him to wince before she let go with a fling. 

The man looked like he wanted to say something, but there must’ve been warning bells in his head when he looked at Natasha, so he grumbled and turned to leave. 

Natasha turned her attention back over to you, eyeing the kid from the side. Steve definitely did not mention that you had a kid. 

“Natalie! What a surprise. Thanks for that, really,” you said sincerely, a happy grin on your face. 

“No worries,” Natasha shook her head with a wave of her hand. 

“You’re not working today?” You asked curiously. It was only about one in the afternoon. 

Natasha grinned. “Got off early today,” she said simply. 

“Lainey…peach…” Allison whined slightly, her lips jutting out in a pout. You turned over with a slight chuckle and roll of your eyes. 

“Alright, alright, I’ve got the treasure in tow, we can go.” You turned back to Natasha, biting your lip slightly. It was a long shot, but why not. Sometimes it was better to keep people like Natasha close to ward off suspicion. 

“Listen, I don’t know if you’re busy today. We’re about to head to Central Park for a picnic. Steve couldn’t make it, but would you…would you like to join us?" 

It was a lot to ask someone who you’ve spoken to just once, even though it was a lengthy time. Natasha considered it for a moment with a tilt her head. 

"I’d love to,” she said after a moment. If the opportunity to get to know the mysterious girl presented itself, why not? 

You smiled, “Great! We’ll meet you there. Bring anything you’d like, but I do have a lot of food and drinks." 

With that, you went separate ways before shortly meeting up at the park again. You made small talk as you put out a picnic blanket and set everything down. Natasha helped carry some things, and as they sat down, Allison already pulling the kite that you packed. 

"Oh, hold on, I’m just going to get her set up,” you said, walking off with the bouncing child. 

Natasha watched from a distance, arms crossed as she sat with her legs pressed together and on her side. 

She thought about calling Steve to see what the deal was with the kid but decided against it since she didn’t want to end up answering the hundreds of questions the guy would have about seeing you. Allison didn’t quite look like she was yours as the two of you shared different hair and eye colors. 

Maybe a niece? 

Before she knew it, you were back and taking a seat with a small huff. 

“Tired?” Natasha asked with a grin. 

You gave her a wry grin back, “Think I’d be used to that bundle of energy now, but she definitely keeps me on my toes." 

"Is she yours?” Natasha asked with a tilt of her head. 

You shook your head, feeling like a broken record with how much you had to repeat things.

“Oh, no. She’s my neighbor’s kid. She’s a single mom and just got out of the hospital. They don’t have any other family in the city, so I offered to watch her. Now, her mom is picking up some extra shifts to make up for what she’s missed, so I watch her when needed." 

Natasha gave a small gentle smile. "You have a lot of free time?" 

You shrugged, "Well, I did end up hiring more people and promoted my one employee to be a manager. So, yeah, I guess I do have more free time now." 

Natasha hummed. "I guess your side book rentals does make a good profit after a certain point." 

You laughed, "Sure does! I’m like a blockbuster." 

"You do know they went out of business, right?” Natasha said with a raise of her eyebrow and a smirk. 

“I’ll become Netflix then,” you replied right back without missing a beat. It caused Natasha to chuckle. With that, you pulled out a thermos and some paper cups. 

“Coffee?” You asked, and Natasha nodded. You handed the redhead a cup, and the aroma already made Natasha feel warm. 

“Mmm,” Natasha purred at the taste. “Seriously, there’s got to be a secret ingredient in this coffee. I refuse to believe you can just make it this good." 

You jokingly looked affronted. "Well, suck on it. I do just make it that good." 

You pulled out the peaches that you bought, wiping them clean with a wet paper towel, and began to cut it with a knife. Natasha watched, again, with the black gloves but also that it was clear that you were experienced with holding a knife as you cut it with ease and quickly. You took out the pit and shaved off peach skin into a plastic bag and put the sliced peaches in a container. 

"Allison!” You called out. The little girl looked over and beamed with pure happiness as she trotted over for the fruit. 

“Thanks, Lainey!” Allison made a move to grab a slice, but you grabbed the girl’s hand gently. 

“Hold it there, my little criminal. The last thing we need is sticky fingers. Here, use a fork." 

Allison grinned as she grabbed the utensil with the fruit already on it and took a bite. She eyed Natasha, and the redhead smiled at her. 

"Are you friends with Steve?” Allison asked, remembering that you told Natasha that Steve couldn’t make it. 

Natasha looked taken aback slightly before smiling at the kid. “Yeah, we’re friends." 

Allison simply nodded but didn’t ask any more questions, which Natasha found a little strange. 

"Okay,” she said simply. Maybe the kid was assessing her? 

“Do you like peaches?” Allison asked, and Natasha blinked. She should be more used to this, with Clint having kids and all. 

“Yeah,” Natasha replied with ease. “They’re delicious." 

Allison grinned, and Natasha felt like she passed some sort of test. 

"Great!” Allison exclaimed, passing over her container with some peaches left. “You can have some of my peaches. I’m going to go play now. If you play with me later, I’ll tell you some funny stories about Lainey." 

You looked in disbelief as you looked at the child, "Don’t you dare, Allie." 

Allison stood up, grabbing the frisbee, spotting some other children in the field. She laughed, looking at Natasha once more and winked as she ran off. 

Natasha had to put her hand over her mouth as she tried to control her laughter. You glared playfully at the redhead. 

"I can’t believe I was just used as leverage for your participation,” you muttered. 

“Why? You got some really embarrassing stories?” Natasha smirked. 

You merely pursed your lips together and pretended to zip your lips, and Natasha found herself relaxing a little more. She really should use this opportunity to find out more about you, but she found that it was just natural to be the moment with you. 

But as you handed her a cut sandwich that had a fried cutlet in it with a mystery sauce, Natasha found it was the time to ask about the gloves. 

“Are you a germaphobe? Or perpetually cold?” Natasha found that the weather itself was warm, no need for gloves. She knew some people with arthritis would wear gloves, but the type that you wore didn’t seem like it was for warmth. 

“Kind of a germaphobe,” You answered, without missing a beat. You took a bite of the sandwich, leaning a little back. 

“Nothing extreme, but working at the café and touching money has gotten me sick a couple times. I don’t like touching things directly if I can help it." 

Natasha nodded, enjoying the sandwich. She didn’t question it too much when there were people like Tony Stark out there with weird quirks himself. 

"So, I guess since you know I own the café, what do you do?" 

"I’m a personal assistant for Stark Industries,” Natasha answered, eyeing your reaction. You didn’t seem to react much. 

“Oh, cool. Must keep you busy if you work for Tony." 

"You know Tony Stark?” Natasha asked with an eyebrow raised, and you gave her a look. 

“Who doesn’t know Tony Stark? Even I, a hermit, would know." 

Natasha smiled, but she felt it. There was something off about you. Knowing Tony Stark meant knowing about him being an Avenger. So, you had to know about other members who were publicly known. Steve had been doing so many interviews. 

But Steve wouldn’t appreciate her asking outright. 

Even if she wanted to, Allison had come back from playing frisbee. You gave the girl a hand wipe and handed her a sandwich and juice that was in a bottle to avoid spilling. 

"Alright, kid. We got enough time for one more game, and we’re gonna head out. Your mom said she’s going to be home for dinner. Choose wisely." 

Allison pursed her lips, gripping her bottle before she seemed to come to a decision. 

"Jenga! I’m going to win this time." 

You smirked, "alright." 

Allison immediately moved over to Natasha. "Can we team up? Lainey never loses in this game!" 

Natasha blinked, looking over to you, who nodded. The redhead looked back to the kid and smiled. "Alright, we’ll secure victory this time." 

"In your dreams! Allie will spill my dirty secrets, so there will be no mercy." 

With the game set up, they began. You were pretty good, but Natasha was just as good. The redhead noticed that you had incredibly steady hands. As you took pieces out, your hand was impossibly still. 

Eventually, they had gotten to where the stack was pretty unsteady, and a lot of the levels had only the middle pieces, including the bottom. It was coming down to that even trying to take any side pieces would result in the stack collapsing. As it was Natasha’s turn, she eyed the stack, calculating her best bet. It would have to be the bottom piece. She steadied her hand as she latched onto the piece, and with precision and quickness, she yanked out the piece, the stack moving down perfectly without even swaying. 

Allison cheered, and Natasha smirked at you. You didn’t even look phased. You eyed the stack, and just like Natasha, it would be foolish to try to grab a side piece. 

This was it. 

Natasha watched in disbelief as she saw you eyeing a middle piece that was literally in the middle level of the stack with no side pieces. 

No, you wouldn’t. 

Would you? 

There was no way you could grab that without having the stack fall over. 

You lifted your gloved hand and put your fingers in a flicking motion, and with just the right amount of force and speed, you flicked the piece out, and it flew right into Natasha. The stack lowered another level and barely swayed as it settled. 

You looked at Natasha smugly. 

” _ты серьезно_ ,“ Natasha muttered _are you serious_ in Russian and she swore, the slight twitch in your lip made Natasha believe that you knew what she said, but as quick as she saw it, it was gone. 

"Ugh,” Allison groaned, taking out a piece, making the entire stack collapse. “I’ll never beat you, Lainey." 

You laughed as you collected the pieces to put away. "Practice, sweetpea. You can challenge me in the next lifetime." 

You cackled as Allison playfully threw a piece at you in retaliation. 

"Don’t worry, we’ll get her next time,” Natasha said to comfort the young girl who leaned against her and sighed. 

“There’s a next time?” You asked playfully, and Natasha tilted her head. 

“Should there be?” The redhead asked back cryptically. 

You licked your bottom lip slightly, the action drawing Natasha’s attention to it. 

“Yeah,” You said finally. “We’re friends, right?" 

Natasha nodded. "Yeah, friends." 

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

It was a few days again before you saw Natasha at the café. She seemed to stop by more often now to pick up coffee but didn’t have the time like Steve did to sit around and chat with you. 

It was fine by you, it seemed like Natasha did find you odd, but not to the point where she was investigating you. 

It was becoming a problem, though. You liked Natasha and Steve, liked spending time with them. But the more you did, the more you were putting yourself at risk, putting David at risk. 

You figured you would have to leave soon. Maybe tell them you had a family member in another country that was ill, and you needed to take care of them. Then, you would die in a fiery car crash with nothing to identify you but your dental records and disappear and start over with a new identity. 

It was another month that passed that neither Steve or Natasha showed up, and it worried you. 

Steve used to stop by 3-4 times a week and Natasha at least 3 times when she was free. You were aware that sometimes they would have missions, but they were always back within days, the latest a week. 

That night, you called David. 

_"What’s up? Great timing, I have some more news about The Winter Soldier and the descendants.”_ You got an immediate reply. 

“Great, brief me on that later. I need you to look up something else. Something’s wrong. I haven’t seen Steve or Natasha in over a month. Can you find anything?" 

You could hear something like ” _good riddance_ “ being mumbled, but you chose to ignore it. 

_"Oh shit,”_ David finally said. 

“What? What’s wrong?" 

_"Steve has been listed as a fugitive. It looks like SHIELD is compromised by HYDRA. Black Widow is most likely helping him, and Nick Fury is dead."_

It was quiet on the other line for a bit, you could hear him clicking on his keyboard. 

You were shocked, and worry overcame you. Steve was a fugitive? 

_"Ah shit, this was what I wanted to tell you. The Winter Soldier is in America, caught him on a couple street cameras. He killed Nick Fury."_

"Is the man actually dead?” Based on your past experience, there was no way the man would die that easily. 

_“I’ll have to look more into that and get back to you. I don’t know. There’s a lot of shady shit going on within SHIELD. It doesn’t look good right now for them.”_

“Where are they? Can you find them?" 

_"Hold on, let me find any live feed from street cameras."_

The minutes passed by agonizingly as you heard typing on the keyboard and the mouse clicking.

_"Okay, I’ve got visuals. I’ll send the details to your phone. What are you going to do?"_

You were already changing and packing anything you might need.

"Well, I know The Winter Soldier doesn’t play around. I can’t just let them deal with whatever’s happening. I need you to send more intel to my cell, okay?”

David was silent. _“You know this means you’re exposing yourself, don’t you?"_

You sighed. "Yes, but…I don’t know…I care about them enough.”

David let out a huge frustrated sigh. _“Fuck sake’s, fine. I’ll send you some details. You better hope our asses don’t get imprisoned.”_

“Well, if Fury is really dead, we might not have to worry about that too much. Worst case scenario, we can work for Stark." 

_"Oh, so we just really exposing our asses to everyone now.”_

“Well, I highly doubt we’ll be able to keep our existence a secret to just two Avengers." 

_"I hate you."_

You let out a chuckle as David hung up. You sent a text to Allison’s mother that you would be out of town indefinitely handling some personal business, but you left some money and a babysitter’s number in Allison’s drawer when you were over the other day in case of emergencies. 

Grabbing your car keys, you left. 

Somehow, you knew you were going to change everything by doing this, but maybe that wouldn’t be the end of the world. 


	4. Part IV

“Insight’s launching this in 16 hours, we’re cutting it kind of close,” Natasha says, poking her head around Steve’s seat to look at him with Sitwell sitting next to her.

“I know,” Steve says, turning his head out towards the window. “We’ll use him to bypass the DNA scans and access the helicarriers directly.” 

Sitwell’s eyes went wide as she looked at them. “ _What?_ Are you crazy?” 

Natasha turned her attention to him.

“That is a terrible, _terrible_ idea.” Sitwell shook his head over and over, baffled by what Steve said.

Before Sitwell could say anything else, the window next to them shattered, and a metal arm entered in and grabbed the man, throwing him out to the other side of the road where a truck hit the man.

“Shit!” Sam exclaimed, swerving the car slightly as Natasha climbed into Steve’s lap in the front, bullets going through the roof of the vehicle. Steve looked down and put the car into park, the car sliding to stop abruptly, throwing the assassin from the ceiling, and he used his metal arm to come to a stop, sparks flying from dragging against the road. 

He stood in the middle of the road, his mask covering his entire face but the eyes. Natasha immediately pulled out her gun, but before she could shoot, they were rammed from behind from another car, causing her to drop the gun.

The car behind them accelerated, forcing their own vehicle to move forward, driving right into The Winter Soldier, who hopped on top of their car. Natasha lowered her hand to the ground, trying to find her gun as Sam slammed on the brakes. The Winter Soldier rammed his metal arm through the windshield, ripping the steering wheel out. Natasha gripped the gun, pointed it up, and started firing at the roof, forcing the assassin to jump to the car behind them.

This gave them a short distance before the car rammed into them again, this time with enough force to spin their car out of control.

Steve grabbed his shield, pulling Natasha closer to him and then pulling Sam. He forced the door open, breaking it to soften their fall onto the ground, sliding against the gravel as the car was totaled.

Natasha jumped up to her feet before immediately pushing Steve across as she took cover from a bomb being shot at them.

“This is real peachy,” Natasha muttered. 

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

2300 block of Virginia Avenue

You had the approximate address where Natasha and Steve were provided by David, who just sent it to you. 

You shifted the gear stick and stepped on the gas, navigating your way through traffic quickly. David had told you an explosion happened on a bridge; people were starting to be evacuated in the nearby area. At some point, you had to stop your car due to a giant block of concrete blocking the way. 

You got out and started running. You could hear gunshots in the distance and could only figure that Steve and Natasha were in that area. As you ran, you looked up to the bridge and saw a man with a… jetpack with wings on? He was fighting what you could only assume were HYDRA soldiers. One of the soldiers started firing his bullets, trying to catch the flying man, and you immediately had to jump in front of a teenager trying to run. A stray bullet pierced your shoulder, and you grunted slightly. The teen girl was crying, and you let up a little bit to suspect any injuries but only saw the teen had a small gash on her cheek. 

“You need to leave this area immediately,” you told the girl. The girl seemed too frightened to move, still crying, and you sighed, grabbing the girl’s shoulder. 

“Hey, hey, look at me,” you cooed gently, and the girl opened her eyes. Your eyes darkened slightly, and it was like a misty fog encased the girl’s mind as her pupils dilated in response to you. 

_“Run, and don’t look back until you’ve made it to safety.”_

The teen girl stood up, turned, and started sprinting away, and you sighed. Your shoulder was already regenerating, pushing the bullet out as the tissue mended itself and skin recovering. 

You looked back to the bridge to see the winged man fly right into a HYDRA soldier, taking him down. What he didn’t notice was that there was another one, right under the bridge, raising his gun, ready to fire him down. 

You immediately ran over faster than a blink of an eye, hopping onto the man’s shoulder and twisted his head until you heard a sickening crack and his body go limp. 

Looking up once more, the winged man didn’t even notice you or the enemy, and you rolled your eyes. 

_‘Goddamn superheroes,’_ you thought and went back to running to find Steve or Natasha. 

It seemed your luck was in order as you saw Natasha running in the far distance just before she was shot in the shoulder. 

You looked over to see The Winter Soldier making his way over, and you let out an expletive before picking up your speed. 

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

Natasha gripped her shoulder in pain as she hid behind a vehicle. She looked around to see if the assassin was behind her, but then she heard a loud bump above her. She immediately whipped her head around to see the masked assassin on top of a car, grenade launcher pointed at her. Her eyes widened, and she didn’t know if she would be able to dodge it in time. 

Just as he was about fire, Natasha watched as another body collided into him, familiar legs wrapping around The Winter Soldier’s torso as you hit the weapon out of his hands hard enough to make him drop it. You then twisted your body around him as your back faced him, wrapping your arms around his head before forcing him to flip over your body and denting the hood of the car as he hit it. 

You immediately hovered over him, facing him as her eyes darkened again, and you forced him to look into her eyes. 

_“Stay down.”_

With the momentary window gap, you hopped off of him and made your way over to the redhead whose expression was in pure shock. 

“ _Elaine?!_ ” Natasha exclaimed in disbelief as you got onto your knees, briefly inspecting the injury before you hauled the redhead up and forced her to start moving. 

“What the hell are you doing here? What the hell was that?” Natasha asked immediately, but you didn’t seem to be interested in answering. 

“Yeah, run now, talk later. He’s not going to stay down for long, and I feel like we should probably find better cover.” 

You forced Natasha to run faster as the two of you took cover behind another car. Just as you said, The Winter Soldier got back up, picking up the grenade launcher again to search for them. Raising his weapon to fire again, he quickly whipped his head to the side, hearing something come towards him and found Steve running right at him with his shield. The shield collided right into them, forcing him off the car as they rolled. 

Behind the car, you settled Natasha down to take a better look at the injury. “Well, good news, the bullet went right through you. Bad news, this shit better get settled quickly, or you’ll bleed out.” 

You were luckily wearing an undershirt as you ripped most of the fabric to make a makeshift bandage to wrap around Natasha’s shoulder and tying it tightly to try to slow the bleeding down. 

Natasha just stared at you. She couldn’t believe her eyes. You, the café owner, were here amid all this danger and was actually able to knock The Winter Soldier down. 

“Are you fucking serious right now?” Natasha seethed at you. You pursed your lips and furrowed your eyebrows. 

“Look, I can explain—” 

“Damn right, you better explain! Who the hell are you?” 

“Okay, my name is actually Elaine Rosewood. Right now, _legally_ , anyways.” 

“Were you lying to both Steve and I the entire time? You actually knew who we were, didn’t you? What are you? A spy? HYDRA?” 

You put your hands up, trying to calm down the redhead. “Alright, alright. Yes, I knew who you both were the moment you came into my shop. I lied and pretended I didn’t know, but only to keep myself safe. I didn’t want you snooping around me, but I’m not HYDRA, alright? If I were, I would’ve let you die.” 

You popped your head up, watching Steve battle the masked assassin. You thought about jumping in to help but believed that the shock of you being there would distract him more than help. The winged man was there again. 

You turned your attention back to Natasha, who was silent. 

“I mean, not like you were that truthful either, _Natalie Rushman_.” 

“It’s my job to have aliases.” 

You shrugged. 

“Why did you come then?” Natasha asked, her hand pressing against the wound, and she refused to wince at the pain. 

You looked insecure for a moment, your eyes shifting slightly before staring at Natasha. 

“We’re friends… aren’t we?” 

Natasha didn’t say anything, and it felt like your stomach was dropping, but you could understand why Natasha felt mistrust. 

“Bucky?” 

The confused voice brought your attention over to where Steve was staring at The Winter Soldier’s whose mask was off, exposing his face. 

You had recognized that face immediately. On your day off, you did go visit the Smithsonian Institution to look at the tribute to Captain America, out of your own curiosity. There wasn’t anything there that David couldn’t tell you. 

James Buchanan Barnes. 

You felt your heartbreak a little looking at Steve’s face. Your eyes traveled to Barnes’ pocket and saw a handgun. 

“Oh, fuck,” You swore, dashing off and ignoring Natasha calling your name. 

You quickly grabbed the grenade launcher at the next car, standing against the vehicle, pulling the trigger just before Barnes could pull the trigger. The explosion forced everyone to raise their hand to shield themselves. When they looked up, Barnes looked once more at Steve before running off. Steve looked over, and his face was in a stupor as he saw you standing there. You immediately dropped the gun, running towards Steve. 

“Elaine?” He called out in confusion and worry. You immediately looked in the distance and could see men running towards them, some in vehicles and a helicopter above. 

You grabbed onto Steve, dragging him to where Natasha was. 

“Hey, Birdman! You better follow if you don’t want to be captured!” You called out to the other man who immediately ran towards them.

When the three of them piled at the car Natasha was at, you looked around. 

“Fuck, I can’t carry all of you…” you muttered to yourself. 

“Carry?” Steve said. You immediately broke the window to the car Natasha leaned against and opened the driver’s door and got in. 

“Everyone, hop in.” 

They stood there looking at you. 

You groaned, your eyes in disbelief. “ _Now!_ ” 

Everyone scrambled, the jetpack man opened the door and helped Natasha get in while Steve slid over the roof of the car and got into the passenger seat. 

There were no keys in the car, so you looked underneath, yanking the wires out and hotwired the vehicle, the engine purring and coming to life. You immediately pulled the gear shift into drive and sped off. 

“Oh, shit, that’s hot. I’m Sam, by the way.” The jetpack man commented, getting both Steve and Natasha to glare at him. 

“Elaine,” you introduced yourself quickly. 

You looked behind to see the vehicles speeding and catching up to them. If they didn’t do something soon, their pursuers would catch up for sure, and they’d be caught in a sticky situation. Especially since the vehicle they were in wasn’t exactly a Buggati. 

You looked over to Steve’s side, who still seemed in shock that you were in front of him. You looked out his window and saw a cracked concrete pillar, threatening to collapse coming up. 

“Steve,” you said, focusing his attention. You eyed his shield and formulated a plan. Bullets were being shot at their vehicle, and you had to swerve left and right. 

“Steve, kick your door out.” 

“What?” 

“Just do it!” 

Steve pursed his lips but turned in his seat and used his feet to quickly kick out his door. 

You focused back on the road, your eyes shifting to the rearview mirror to find their chasers getting closer. “Can you throw your shield hard enough at that pillar to make it fall?” 

Everyone looked at the pillar you were talking about, and Steve accessed it. 

“Yeah, I can,” Steve finally said. 

You took a deep breath, “Okay, wait for my mark…and try not to get shot.” 

Steve managed to give you a wry smile as he got ready. 

As they were approaching the pillar, you eyed the vehicles from behind and then the helicopter. You waited with bated breath for the perfect moment. 

“Now!” 

Steve stood and leaned out the door, Nat holding onto him tightly from the back as Steve rewind his arm, whipping his shield towards the pillar and the sheer force of it causing the foundation to crumble.

Steve caught his shield again, and Natasha, with the help of Sam, pulled Steve back in. 

You immediately floored the gas pedal, forcing the vehicle to its limit as they made past the rubble falling just in the nick of time, small pieces of debris falling on the trunk. The falling concrete was timed perfectly, forcing the helicopter to swerve backward the last second and the vehicles coming to a harsh stop to avoid being crushed.

On the other side, you sighed in relief, and everyone in the car relaxed slightly. Still, you kept your foot on the gas pedal, navigating your way through the abandoned vehicles on the road. 

You needed to get back to your car so you could trade it for this one. That obstacle would only keep them stalled minutes at best.

The drive was silent before you came to a stop. “Everyone out.”

They looked at your Bently, and Sam whistled. 

“Nice ride,” Sam commented after his whistle. 

You unlocked the car and gestured everyone to get in again. They took the same seating arrangements, and you took off. It was easier to rip through traffic and put some distance between them and their capturers in your own car. Especially since they wouldn’t know what vehicle to look for. 

With the pressure off their backs, Steve finally looked over at you. 

“What are you doing here? How did you even know?” His face expressionless, and you pursed your lips. How you wished both Natasha and Steve were together when you arrived so you would only need to go through this once. 

“I got worried when the two of you stopped showing up at my café. I had someone look into it. I came because I was _worried_ ,” you explained. 

Steve’s expression seemed to relax a little bit but then went back to being stone cold. “Did you know I was Captain America all along?” 

You shifted in your seat, biting your tongue slightly. You looked over at Steve, whose eyes were just begging to know the truth, and you sighed. 

“Yes, I did know,” you admitted. 

“So, you lied to me,” Steve said, hurt in the back of his throat. 

“Yes, in a way. You never asked me outright, and I never said anything.” 

“Semantics,” Steve said, a little bite in his tone. 

You glared over to him. “You clearly didn’t want me to know you were Captain America. It goes both ways, Steve. How long did you plan to hide it from me? I told you what we had was good. I didn’t treat you any differently than a friend. I didn’t tell you for my own safety, and I wanted you both to treat me normal too.”

Steve seemed taken aback from what you said, not having a reply as he felt he understood what you meant. It didn’t stop it from hurting and feeling a little betrayed in his own hypocritical way. 

Sam in the back looked at both Natasha and Steve, who were now looking out the window. 

“Okay,” he drawled, honing in on the tension. “What’s the plan now?” 

Just as Steve was about to talk, the Bluetooth in the car started ringing and, on the screen, you recognized it as David and you picked up. 

“What do you have for me, D?” 

_“Ugh, am I on speaker?”_ The low voice caught everyone’s attention. 

“Yes,” you said with the roll of your eyes. 

_“Great, just great,”_ they heard him mutter. 

_“Well, lucky you Captain America and Black Widow,”_ David started, grabbing the attention of the two Avengers who eyed the screen warily. 

_“Your boss isn’t dead. Just taking his sweet ol’ time recovering in a safe house.”_

“Got a location?” You asked. 

_“Sure do, I’ll send you the coordinates. Oh, it seems that there’s an agent that was in the chase that was looking for you. I just picked her up escaping from one of the vehicles. She’s got a phone on her, want me to connect?”_

You looked to Steve and Natasha through her rearview mirror, and they both nodded. 

“Yeah, connect us. Thanks, D.” 

The Bluetooth started ringing again, and on the second ring, someone picked up. 

_“Hello?”_ It was a cautious greeting. Natasha seemed to recognize the voice immediately. 

“Agent Hill?” She called out. 

_“Natasha? Shit, are you, Steve, and Sam safe? I was undercover in one of the vehicles ready to break you out if you guys got caught. Hell of a stunt you guys pulled.”_

“Yeah, we’re fine. Where are you?” Steve asked.

_“I just escaped from the vehicle. I’m heading back. Where are you guys? I can come to get you to take you to a safe house.”_

“Actually…” Steve started, not really sure how to explain. 

“It’s fine, we actually already know where it is. We’ll meet you there. Watch out for a black Bently Continental GT,” Natasha grunted. 

_“What? How do you guys already know? It’s a goddamn secret facility. You know what? You can explain when you get here. I got to hang up.”_

With that, the line disconnected. 

“Can’t be that secret if David can find it,” You muttered, earning a glare from her two Avengers. 

“You’ve got a lot of explaining to do yourself, don’t think you’re off the hook,” Natasha scolded. 

You scrunched up your face in displeasure. 

“Look, no offense. But the reason I’m out here hiding is because I don’t want to be recruited into SHIELD. I’m sure your boss is a great guy, but he’s a persistent dickhead.” 

“What’s wrong with SHIELD?” Sam asked, a little offended. You gave him a look with your eyebrow raised. 

“Other than the fact that it’s compromised already by HYDRA?” You retorted, watching as Sam looked a little sheepish. 

You sighed, “I’m not big on organizations. They’re usually always corrupt in some way, and I have problems with people telling me what to do if I’m not morally comfortable with it. The last thing I need is some guy with an eyepatch restricting me while also telling me what to do.” 

Steve seemed to understand somewhat, his expression softening as he felt like you were more scared of being captured. He put his hand gently on her shoulder and squeezed, garnering the attention of Natasha in the back. 

“Look, I understand if you don’t want to come with us, but just know if you do, I won’t let anyone make you do anything.” 

You looked forlornly at Steve and sighed, speeding up the car as you got the coordinates on the screen. 

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Steve.” 


	5. Part V

You pulled into the facility, frowning a little bit as Steve looked at you when everyone got out. You sighed, unbuckling your seatbelt, and got out yourself. The super soldier came over to you, putting his hand reassuringly on your shoulder as if to remind you that he wouldn’t let anyone make you do anything you didn’t want.

You gave him a trite smile as you walked forward, coincidentally falling in step with Natasha. The redhead hadn’t much to you, and you figured that it was because Natasha was still irate with you for lying. But perhaps not as mad as you thought, as you felt Natasha’s pinky finger gently brush against your own, and since Natasha was a very purposeful person, you did manage a small smile.

When they entered the facility, Agent Maria Hill was already there to greet them. She gave you a confused look over, a slight rise in her brow.

“She’s the one who saved us. We know her, it’s fine,” Steve immediate vouched for you while Natasha merely nodded. 

Agent Hill nodded before turning, gesturing towards a room. A man runs towards them, looking at Natasha’s wound.

“She’s lost quite a bit of blood,” you tell him, and he looks like he’s ready to take Natasha, but Agent Hill stops him.

“She’ll want to see him first,” Hill says, referring to Fury. They entered to see Nick Fury lying there, very much alive although severely injured. Everyone looks on shocked, except you. 

Fury looks at you, squinting slightly with his one eye. It seems recognition passes him as he looks on in disbelief.

“I know you,” he says simply. You just look on, assessing his injuries.

“You’re a stubborn old man, aren’t you? Just won’t die.” You say, earning various looks from people across the room, but Fury only laughs, wincing slightly after.

“What can I say? It’s gonna take more than a lacerated spinal column, cracked sternum, shattered collarbone, perforated liver, one hell of a headache to kill me,” Fury said. 

“How are you even alive? They cut you open, we saw you.” Natasha asked, holding her wound. 

Fury went on to reveal that Banner had developed a drug to slow your heartbeat down enough to mimic death. He originally created it in hopes to control The Hulk, but it didn’t work, and Fury still found a use for it. Steve was a little upset about being lied to once more by the man, but Fury seemed unfazed.

“Any attempts on his life have to look successful,” Agent Hill explained. 

“Can’t kill me if I’m dead,” Fury said with a smug tone to his voice. “Besides, I didn’t know who I could trust.” 

It was silent again after that, but you could see it had affected Natasha to hear that. 

“How do you know her?” Steve asked, eyeing the two of you. 

Fury looked back at you and could see your discomfort. 

“1970,” he stated, “Russia. I was on a mission and got separated from my partner. I was running from my enemies through a frozen lake when the ice cracked, and I fell underneath. I damn thought I really was going to die as I sank to the bottom. Next thing I knew, someone jumped in after me, pulled me out from the frozen lake. I woke up in the hospital with my partner at the time.” 

You looked on him with dead eyes, “I should’ve let you drown.” 

You only half-meant it, mostly because Fury has been a pain in your ass since. 

“1970…” Steve whispered; everyone was surprised to hear what Fury said, all of them calculating your age. 

“You don’t look that old…” Steve whispered the last part slowly, looking at you and how you looked young…like him. 

“Are you…” He didn’t know how to ask if you were enhanced because if you were, that would mean you were involved way more then you let on. 

“No,” You said immediately, turning to Steve for a moment. “I’m not like you.” 

You didn’t explain anymore, and both Steve and Natasha could sense the reluctance. Fury smirked at you, and you pursed your lips at him. 

“Well, I’ll be. I’ve been trying to find you ever since. Ain’t nobody would be able to do what you did back then. You’re a slippery one. All comes to a full circle, doesn’t it?” 

You rolled your eyes, “You’re persistent, I’ll give you that, but it doesn’t change my answer. I’m not interested in working for you, dead or alive.” 

“But you came in the end,” Fury insisted. 

“Yes, but for Steve and Natasha. I would never involve myself in your world otherwise,” you heard shifting behind you, and you knew it was the two Avengers, but you didn’t look at their expressions. 

Fury snorted, “Well, consider it since if the bad guys win, you won’t have any world to involve yourself in.” 

Fury knew that there would be no way he could force you. You were obviously strong, and you could disappear from a drop of the hat, and he and anyone he could send would never be able to find you. 

Agent Hill finally cut in, unable to take it anymore. “Okay, I apologize, but I’m seriously lost. What the fuck are you?” 

Hill looked at you, asking you outright with bluntness. You furrowed your brows and was about to answer when Natasha started to sway, her legs giving in. You caught her before anyone else could. 

“You’re losing too much blood,” you said with worry lacing your tone. You lifted Natasha from her legs and carried the woman over to a nearby table to set her down before standing behind her. The man who had run towards them earlier when they entered came back again, this time with his supplies to clean the wound and stitch it up. 

You stepped only slightly to the side so the man could start his work. The moment he began to take off the bandage on the wound, though, Natasha hissed quietly in pain. He was definitely not gentle. You glared at him, grabbing his hand to stop his administration. Everyone, including Natasha, looked curiously at you, who only gently looked back at the redhead. 

“Do you trust me?” You asked, and Natasha swallowed, looking into your eyes, desperate for forgiveness and understanding, but was resolved if you had none. 

Natasha nodded once. 

You licked your lips, letting go of the medic before waving your hand off for him to leave. Everyone turned their attention to you as you gently untied the bandage and set it aside before helping the redhead take off her leather jacket. Softly, using your gloved fingers to push the tank top strap down, revealing the wound fully, but being careful to not expose Natasha’s chest. 

You looked at everyone in front of them, specifically Agent Hill. “You asked me what I am. Well…take a look.” 

With that, you leaned your head down towards Natasha’s shoulder, you inhaled deep enough for Natasha to hear before you opened your mouth and pressed your tongue in a long, languid lick against the wound.

Natasha immediately gripped the edge of the table, her jaw clenching tightly, and flared her nostrils slightly. 

Not in _pain_ , though. 

No, there was no pain at all. 

At first, shock registered among everyone’s face as Sam’s jaw dropped, and the tip of Steve’s ears flushed pink. The moment was lasted short, though, because seconds after their attention returned to the area of Natasha’s shoulder where you had licked. They could physically see the ripped tissue was repairing itself, and soon enough, the wound disappeared. It was as if it never existed.

You were gripping Natasha’s arm firmly but soon relaxed. You stood up straight, and everyone watched as you let go of Natasha. You brought your gloved fingertips that had a little blood smudged on, and licked the remaining blood off with the tip of your tongue. Your eyes were glowing red.

“I’m a vampire.” 

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

Everyone took a small break after the…demonstration you put on. Sam had to excuse himself while Agent Hill tended to Fury. Steve and Natasha were in their own corner with you to have a private meeting. Natasha was on the extra bed as the medics gave her a change of shirt and jacket to wear. It seemed you protected Natasha’s modesty for nothing as the redhead had no qualms changing in front of them since she still had her bra on. 

Steve, the gentleman that he was, still moved to block her from the view of everyone as she changed. 

Natasha was inspecting the area where the wound used to be, fingers touching the smooth skin that was there. They eyed you as your red eyes faded away, but your jaw was still clenching and unclenching. 

“Are you…still…thirsty?” Steve asked. He wasn’t sure what to feel about you being a vampire. He only really had limited knowledge of them, and that was based on fictional books, and TV shows that he had heard other people talking about. So even that was unreliable information. 

You raised your eyebrow at him. “No, it’s just been a while since I’ve tasted blood…this fresh.” 

“You don’t feed on people?” Natasha asked, curious. She didn’t care that you were a vampire. With all the shit she’s seen in the world, there was nothing inherently wrong with you because if there were, then she would have to condemn Banner as well, and she didn’t. 

“No, I can’t feed from people. I drink from blood bags I get from the hospital,” you replied. 

Steve felt his shoulder relaxing a little as he heard this. He felt better to know that you weren’t feeding from people, even if you did need it to survive. 

“ _Can’t_ or _won’t_?” Natasha asked to clarify. 

“I physically can’t.” 

“But you just fed from Natasha,” Steve pointed out, a little confused. You looked at both of them and pressed your lips together. 

“Feeding and tasting are different things. Natasha’s blood was already out in the open from her wound. To feed, I have to be the one piercing their skin to drink from them, it’s a completely different experience.” Your words were a little forced as if you were uncomfortable speaking about it. 

“Are all vampires like that then?” Natasha asked. 

“No,” You answered bluntly, the curtness of it advising Steve and Natasha that would be all you would answer about it. But it was apparent there was a specific reason for you not being able to feed from people. 

“But wait, when we had dinner, I saw you eat food,” Steve recalled. 

Natasha furrowed her brows at that. “That’s right, you ate when we had the picnic together.” 

Steve then turned to Natasha with a frown as he didn’t hear about this picnic. 

You leaned against the wall, looking tired. “Look, we can go into the nitty-gritty details about being a vampire 101, but I don’t think now is the best time to do that. For now, I’ll tell you that being a vampire means having venom in your system, along with blood. Venom can be used to harm, change someone, or heal like I did with your wound. There’s still blood in my body, and as long as there is, my body mostly functions the same. I taste food the same, but my body cannot digest like you do. Once it goes in, the venom disintegrates it completely, and I take no nutrients from it. I eat, just like you do, but I can only survive from blood.” 

Steve and Natasha processed the information and nodded. You were right that now wasn’t the ideal time to find out everything. 

After a moment of silence, Steve spoke up again. “How old are you?” 

You tilted your head, and eyes went to the top left corner as if you were contemplating the answer. 

“About 400 years old, give or take. I was changed in the 1600s.” 

Both their eyes widened, and you raised her brow at them. “Why are you both surprised? Literal fucking aliens came from a hole in the sky. You’ve met Gods, and plus Steve, you’re like 96 looking 27 still.” 

When you put it like that, they both blinked and realized you were right; they’ve seen weirder shit. 

Before they could discuss anything else, Fury called them back over, and everyone crowded around his bed. He pulled a photo of Alexander Pierce and showed them. 

“This asswipe declined the Nobel Peace Prize, saying shit like peace was responsibility. It’s shit like this that gives me trust issues,” Nury said with a snort. 

“We have to stop the launch,” Natasha said. 

Fury began to pull out a case, bringing 3 chips out. “Highly doubt the council will take my calls. Here,” he said, handing the chips to Steve. 

“What are these?” Steve asked. 

“Chips to breach the Helicarriers with our own algorithm. You have to make sure we breach them before they’re full weaponized. Hopefully, we can salvage what’s left.” Fury stated. 

“We’re not salvaging anything. We’re not just taking these Helicarriers down, we’re taking down SHIELD, Fury.” Steve said with his jaw clenched. 

Fury and Steve began to bicker back and forth until you rolled your eyes and firmly said stop to end the bickering. 

“Look, Fury, I get what you were trying to achieve with SHIELD, but Steve’s right. It’s been compromised, and it happened right under your nose, and no one noticed.” You said, putting your hand on Steve’s bicep as a show of support. 

“We’re in this cave because I noticed,” Fury argued. 

“Yes, after the fact. Do you know how many people paid the price already?” You said softly, feeling Steve tense under your hand as he thought about Bucky. 

Fury looked at Steve and sighed. “Look, Rogers, I didn’t know about him.” 

“Even if you did, would you have even told me or would have compartmentalized that too? SHIELD, HYDRA, it all goes.” 

You gave them a wry smile. “Start over, Fury. There are worse things than starting over.” 

Fury looked at everyone, including Agent Hill, who nodded at him. He sighed and looked back at Steve. 

“Well, Captain, looks like you’re giving orders now.” 

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

They came up with a plan of attack and split ways. Steve and Sam were handling Bucky, while Steve also would be responsible for putting the chips on the Helicarriers. 

Since Sam was helping Steve, you decided you would tag along with Natasha in case she needed assistance. You highly doubted you would end up doing anything, but the redhead assisted you to tag along, but you think it’s because Natasha doesn’t want you to run off and disappear on them. 

As they were getting ready to part ways, you stood outside the facility doors, basking in the sun casually as you leaned against a wall. There wasn’t much for you to prepare for, though Natasha insisted that you carry a gun on you, and you complied to, if anything, appease the redhead’s worry. 

You were tempted to say that bullets couldn’t kill you, and you could disarm and kill anyone faster before they could shoot at you, but you didn’t think the redhead would appreciate the comment, so you took the gun. 

You were idly tapping your fingers on the side of your thigh when you heard someone open the door. The steps were familiar, so you didn’t turn your head to look at who it was, only meeting their eyes when they were in front of you. 

“Natasha,” you greeted with a small smile. She gave you a small one back, her hands behind her back. 

“You know, I thought you were really weird.” 

You chuckled, “ _This_ weird?” 

Natasha only smiled. “Just so you know, most girls are ready to fall head over heels for Captain America. I mean, his body is the literal fucking shape of a Dorito.” 

“You date him then,” you quirk an eyebrow at her. 

Natasha merely laughs, “You know what I’m asking you.” 

You licked your lips and shrugged. “Nat, I’ve dated many people over my years. Obviously, none of them can last. Dating is just a distraction, Romanoff.” 

Natasha raised her eyebrow, stepping closer to you. “Because you’ve never told anyone that your secret?” 

“There’s a lot of logistics to dating a vampire, I suppose,” you said as casually as you could, crossing your arms. 

Natasha stepped so close to you that you could feel her breath on your lips. 

“Good to know,” she says before she smirks and walks back inside.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷ 

You had the gun pointed at Pierce as Natasha was on the computer. 

“What’s she doing?” Councilman Rockman asked. 

Pierce scoffed with anger in his eyes. “She’s disabling security protocols and dumping all the secrets onto the Internet.” 

“Including HYDRA’s,” Natasha added. 

Pierce turned to look at her. “And SHIELD’s. If you do this, none of your pasts are gonna remain hidden.” 

Natasha continued to type into the computer, unfazed by what he was saying. 

“Are you sure you’re ready for the world to see you as you really are?” He asked with a smirk. 

Natasha looked at him with a raise of her brow, “Are you?” 

You could hear things blowing up in the distance, and you turned your head to look out the window, your eyes zooming in to see the Helicarriers. 

“They’ve got two down, one to go,” you informed. 

Natasha nodded briefly, a smirk on her lips as she continued to type. Pierce looked at her, squinting his eyes. 

“Disabling the encryption is an executive order, it takes two Alpha Level members.” 

Natasha Romanoff didn’t even look up. “Don’t worry, company’s coming.” 

At that moment, a helicopter landed, a man in a full black outfit and long jacket walked into the room. You resisted the urge to roll your eyes at the dramatics as Fury stepped in. 

They exchanged words, but you were more focused on watching the scene outside at the corner of your eye. 

“…keep your both your eyes open.” 

You turned your attention back to the situation to see Fury lift his eyepatch to reveal his dead eye. 

_“Alpha Level confirmed. Encryption code accepted. Safeguards removed.”_

Natasha pulled out her mobile device, “Done,” she said, referring to what she exposed. “And it’s even trending.” 

At that exact moment, Pierce pressed a button, setting off the pins he had given the council members and causing them to burn into their sternums deeply. You focused on Pierce as Fury and Natasha also pointed their guns at him while he pointed his device at Natasha. 

“Unless you want a two-inch hole in your sternum, I’d put that gun down,” he said, but Natasha doesn’t back down. 

“That was armed the moment you pinned it on.” 

They all reluctantly lower their weapons. You are thinking rapidly. You could probably disarm Pierce before he sets off the pin on Natasha. 

But it’s not also something you are willing to risk. 

You have a plan, but there’s only one shot. You look at Natasha, who briefly looks at you. You watch as Natasha lowers her eyes to the small disc that she has that emits electrical shocks. You seriously hope she does not use that. 

“What a waste!” Pierce ends up scoffing as the Helicarriers begin to shoot at each other. 

“Are you still on the fence about Rogers’ chances?” Natasha says with a smug smile. 

Pierce glared at her as he pulled Natasha with him. “Time to go, Councilwoman. This way, come on. You’re going to be flying me out of here.” 

You see this as a chance, and apparently, so does Fury. 

“You know,” he starts, grabbing Pierce’s attention. “There was a time that I would’ve taken a bullet for you.” 

Pierce lifted his nose in the air, “You already have, and will again when it’s useful.” 

You seized the opportunity while he is distracted. At vampiric speed, you run over to Pierce, grabbing his wrist and crushed it within your grasp with ease. A painful howl came out of Pierce as he was forced to drop the device and drop to his knees. You caught the device and kicked Pierce from behind in front of Fury.

Even through the pain, Pierce looked up to you, giving you a dirty smirk. “Don’t bother, I didn’t put a deactivation code in it. Even if you try to take the pin off, it will automatically trigger it.”

You clenched your jaw, but Natasha took the opportunity to employ the small disc on herself, sending electrical shocks to the pin and frying it. You went to catch the redhead just before she could hit the ground. 

Fury walked over to Pierce with his gun in hand. 

“Well, looks like you win this time, Nick. Hope you’ll visit me in jail,” Pierce was clutching his broken wrist as he stared at Fury, not showing any defeat. 

Fury raised his brow, “Jail? I don’t know what you mean. I’m bringing you flowers for your funeral, motherfucker.” 

With that, Fury shot two bullets into Pierce, sending the man falling over onto his back in shock, the life fading from him. 

“ _Hail HYDRA_ ,” he whispered, before dying. 

You were still shaking Natasha, calling to her. “Hey, hey! Natasha, come on, open your eyes!”

The redhead slowly opened her eyes, almost in a confused daze but then winced in pain. 

_“Ow,”_ she croaked, “Those things really do hurt.” 

You choked on a laughter, gripping Natasha’s shoulder a little tighter instead of hugging her in relief. You helped the spy up, inspecting her to make sure there were no additional injuries and satisfied when there were none. You immediately took the pin off of Natasha, throwing it away along with the device you crushed in your hand. 

“C’mon, maybe we should find Steve and Birdman,” you said. 

“You mean Falcon?” Natasha said with an amused grin. 

“I said what I said.” 

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

The end of the entire thing was almost unclimactic. You had nearly wished life was like a book or a movie where you could skip the unpleasantries of the aftermath and go to the credits. 

You watched from a distance with sunglasses on your face as Natasha came out from the committee hearing, making her way towards you.

You opened the passenger door for her, and she gave you a light quirk of a smile.

The two of you got into your Bently and drove off to meet up with Steve. 

“Guess you’re not getting arrested?” You asked, and Natasha shook her head. 

“Nope, managed to convince them the world will fall apart if they arrested any of us.” 

You laughed, pulling into the cemetery where they walked together in a comfortable silence just as Fury shook both Steve and Sam’s hand, letting them know that if anyone was looking for him, they could find him here at his gravestone. 

“You should be honored, that’s as close as he gets to saying thank you,” Natasha half-joked as they stood next to the two men. 

“It’s definitely more than what I got, and I saved his freaking ass from becoming a block of ice,” you muttered, and Steve grinned at you as Natasha bumped your shoulder lightly. 

“Not going with him?” Steve asked Natasha, who shook her head. 

“I blew all my covers, got to figure out a new one.” 

“Might take a while, I’m guessing,” Steve said, and Natasha nodded her head just before handing him a file. 

“Counting on it. That thing you asked for, I called a few favors from Kiev. Be careful, Rogers,” she leaned up on her toes and kissed Steve on the cheek before walking off, but not before giving you a look to say she’d be waiting for you at the car. 

Steve looked through the file briefly as you sauntered up to him. 

“Hey, soldier,” you said softly, and he smiled at you. He lifted his hand to put on your shoulder. You smiled at him briefly before looking at the file in his hand. 

“You’re going to find him?” 

Steve nodded. “I’ve got to.” 

“You need any help?” You offered, but Steve shook his head. 

“No, I know you need to do your own thing.” 

You raised your eyebrow at him. “And how would you know that?” 

Steven grinned a little sheepishly with a small guilty expression. “I might’ve seen a text on your phone from your friend that you needed to head to Sokovia.” 

You chuckled, shaking your head slightly at him. 

“You’re a good friend, Rogers,” you said softly, knowing it would be a while before you saw Steve again. 

“But you should watch yourself. You’re kind of flirty. Very troublesome.” From the teasing tone of your voice, Steve grinned at you. 

“Sorry, ma’am. As Natasha calls it, we’re more than friends, we are in each other’s ‘family zone.’” 

You laugh, pinching his cheeks before you go. 

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

When you finally got into the car, Natasha looked at you. 

“You done giving goo-goo eyes to each other?” There was no emotion in the way she said it. Neither sounding unhappy or happy about it. 

You rolled your eyes, “We’re just friends, Nat.” 

“Wow, try to contain your excitement,” Natasha said, with a raise of her eyebrow. 

You merely sighed and shrugged once more. You started the engine, running your hand through your hair. 

“Other than the fact that Steve and I really don’t feel anything for each other, we would never make a good match anyways.” 

“Why?” Natasha probes. 

“You mean, other than the fact Steve’s hung up on his past, and I am a literal supernatural being that will live forever provided I’m not killed?” 

Natasha gives you a look, and you puff out a breath as you drive off. 

“Look, I don’t know if Steve’s in a good place right now to even consider dating other people. I know Steve wants to move on with his life. But I can see the guilt in his eyes every time he does. I know he visits Peggy Carter still, which I’m happy he does because I know she was, _is_ , the greatest love of his life. She was the woman who saw him before the serum. He always looks wistful when he sees couples together.” 

“What? We’re supposed to just let him wallow and be alone forever?” Natasha frowns, picking at the cotton on her shirt. 

You shrugged, “I think Steve needs to be the one to close the chapter of their book. And for that to happen, he has to accept that Peggy Carter is not is present or his future.” 

With that, you sigh and changes the topic by looking at Natasha with a smirk. 

“Anyways, I hear you’re looking for a new cover. You interested in coming with me to meet David?”


	6. Part VI

“Your little side gig of renting books must make more than I originally thought,” Natasha wryly said as she sat comfortably in her cushioned chair that had plenty of legroom. 

Sitting first class on a flight was something Natasha rarely did, mostly because she could get anywhere on the Quinjet. But even then, with her line of work, it’s not like she could continuously afford first-class with how often she needed to travel, and the cost wasn’t worth it. 

Maybe if Tony paid for her trips. 

You grinned at the redhead across as you flagged down a flight attendant. “That, or living for over 400 years gives me a lot of time for investing and saving.”

Natasha merely smiles with a tilt of her head as she watches you order a salad, with cheese, nuts, and a side of fruit. 

“I thought you didn’t have to eat,” Natasha brings up after the flight attendant leaves. 

“I don’t,” you lean your jaw on your fist as your elbow rests against the armrest. “It’s for you. It’s going to be a long flight, but this is probably the freshest meal on the plane. At least it’s naturally salty, so you’ll be able to taste it instead of having to eat something that has been over salted. Humans lose about up to 30% of their taste when they’re this high.”

Natasha licks her lips because it’s something so small, you don’t even realize as you turn your head to look out the window. 

It’s considerate, and it shows Natasha that you do care about her despite you hiding things from her. 

Sometimes, she cannot help but wonder why. 

“You don’t lose your taste?” Natasha asks curiously, drawing your attention back. 

You hum. “It’s hard to explain. My senses are enhanced. Things are typically louder, stronger tasting, and smellier. It gets easier to control with age, but when I eat, I don’t just taste the food. I can smell and taste how fresh it is, how cooked it is, every ingredient used.”

“That sounds like food can be an enjoyable experience. Do you eat regularly then?” Natasha asked.

You shook your head. “No, I eat when the situation calls for it. I can appreciate a well-cooked meal, but since I don’t gather any nutrients from it, I don’t really see the point of regularly eating when I’ll have to feed again later.”

Natasha nods, recalling what you had told her back at the secret facility.

“Since it’s a long flight,” Natasha smiles, “can you tell me a little more about being a vampire 101?”

You grin, “You may ask your questions, but I can’t guarantee I’ll answer all of them.”

She remembers that you were unwilling to talk about why you weren’t able to feed from humans, so she knew that was off-limits. A million questions race through Natasha’s mind, almost unsure of what to ask, but she decides she’ll ask the things she saw about you first.

“When you were fighting The Winter Soldier, you did something to make him stay down. What was that?”

You shift in your seat, biting your tongue on how exactly to explain it.

“Every vampire has a power called compulsion. We can compel other beings through essentially mind control by looking into our eyes,” you lick your lips. “There are conditions to it, though. Compulsion is only as strong as the vampire is, and a human’s willpower and mental strength are taken into consideration too. A human who is trained to resist mind control, compulsion lasts much shorter with them." 

"What makes a vampire stronger?” Natasha asked, frowning.

“Age, diet, and practice.”

“Practice?” Natasha’s brows furrow.

You nod. “How often you use compulsion increases its stamina. In terms of physical strength, it’s age and diet, though, practice doesn’t hurt with strategizing." 

"Could someone compel you?” Natasha asked bluntly.

“You’d be hardpressed to find many other vampires older than me,” you smirked, “there’s only most likely a handful of vampires who would be older than me. Though, I suppose I can’t say I’m exactly at my full strength either.”

“Because you can’t feed directly from humans,” Natasha slowly says and watches you nod but say nothing more, so she moves on.

“Do vampires not change other humans?” She asks with a tilt of her head.

You hum, pressing your lips together.

“We do, but it’s rare. Vampires are more likely to only change someone who they consider their life partner, sometimes more if they’re looking to build a ‘family’ or 'coven.’”

“Life partner? Do you only have one partner?” Natasha asks, remembering that you had said you had dated many people over the years, but it didn’t work out. Was this one of the logistics of a vampire? That they had a soulmate?

You shook your head.

“A life partner doesn’t translate to a soulmate or anything like that. Because we live so long, we do love very intensely. We may date and fool around, but humans are so fleeting. Their lifetime is only a moment for us. A life partner is someone vampires consider they cannot have for only one moment, after all, forever is a long time. It takes time for a vampire to consider such things within another,” you close your eyes, no longer talking when the flight attendant comes back with the food and places it in front of Natasha. 

When she leaves, Natasha takes a slice of cheese and puts it in her mouth, humming. 

“Why didn’t you kill The Winter Soldier?” Natasha asks after a moment when she swallows her food.

“I’m glad I didn’t,” you mutter, thinking about how it turned out to be James Buchanan Barnes. 

You sigh lightly. “People who are enhanced are different. The serum makes them much more durable. Generally, humans feel flimsy and frail to us. I could’ve killed him, but it was faster to create an opening for us to escape. You were bleeding.”

Natasha watches as you talk about her wound uncomfortably. 

“Is it hard to resist your thirst?”

You lick your lips, remembering the taste of Natasha’s blood on your tongue. 

“Age helps,” you swallow. “While I feel bloodlust, it’s easier to control knowing I can’t have it. But I always make sure I’m well-fed.”

Still, Natasha feels the word _'why’_ wanting to fall from her lips, but she knows you won’t explain.

“Alright, enough questions for now,” you grin at the redhead, “finish your meal, and let’s watch a movie. I think there’s a movie on here that that hasn’t even hit the theaters yet.”

Natasha merely smiles at you.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

Sokovia is warmer than you thought during this time of the year. 

Fall is barely making its appearance, but it’s still a little brisk. 

You look over to Natasha, who has a thin jacket on, and although the spy doesn’t show any signs of feeling cold, you frown.

You take off your scarf, turning to her as you wrap it around her.

Natasha watches you through her lashes.

“I’m not cold,” she tells you.

“I’m getting cold watching you,” you mumble back, adjusting the scarf just right. 

There’s a moment that seems to linger between the two of you, but before you could really make anything of it, your phone starts to go off.

You blink, looking at Natasha for a moment before turning away to pull out your phone.

“Hey, David,” you answer the phone.

_“Have you landed yet?"_

"Yeah, just hailing a cab right now. I got the address you sent me. Did you settle in and get the place ready?” You ask as you raise your hand to flag a cab to you.

David makes a noise indicating he did. _“Are you bringing her?”_

“Well, I certainly didn’t bring her for nothing.”

David sighs, _“Alright, I’ll see you soon.”_

You hang up the phone as you usher Natasha into the cab first.

You give the address in Slovak as you try to sit comfortably.

“You know Slovak?” Natasha asks in English.

You nod. “Yes, I have an extensive language list. I’ve had 400 years to learn to be fair.”

“I had felt you knew Russian when we played Jenga,” Natasha smiled.

“Oh yeah, you mean when I beat your ass in Jenga?” You smirked, causing the redhead to laugh.

“We’ll see who comes out on top at the next game,” she merely replies. 

You fall into a comfortable silence for the rest of the ride, enjoying the heat that seems to linger between the two of you as you sit close together.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

The house is big, Natasha notices. A part of her wonders precisely how much is in your bank account, and she’s sure you have many accounts offshore as well.

She’s not unused to seeing luxurious houses, but Natasha supposes she’s still reconciling the fact that you’re not just an ordinary café owner.

You carried the suitcases with ease as you entered the house. It was quiet, Natasha observes, looking at the decor as she does so. You drop the bags and hum as you look around.

“David!” You shouted, hearing him trying to stand still upstairs. You hear a quiet groan and roll your eyes, and Natasha tilts her eyes curiously. 

She steels herself when someone blurs down the stairs, standing at a distance. He wore a plain white mask as he briefly looked at Natasha. 

“David,” you sigh, “why are you wearing a mask?”

“For my safety,” he answers, seemingly almost a little proud of himself. 

“Take it off,” you stare at him.

“No.”

“David, you’re being ridiculous,” you scrunch your brow. “You can’t wear the mask forever. She’s here, and she knows you exist, there’s no point.”

“No,” David says stubbornly. 

Natasha watches the scene with rapture, it was hard to form a full opinion with David’s mask on, but he was tall, and seemed toned but not too muscular. His blowout hairstyle seemed to unnaturally defy gravity with its voluminous structure, swaying slightly as he moved his head. 

You seemed to say something quietly and quickly that Natasha couldn’t hear, only for David to do exactly the same.

All of a sudden, Natasha blinked, and you had blurred over towards David. The two of you seemed to be wrestling, and before Natasha could blink again, you had ripped off the mask from David’s face.

“Ugh!” David scowled with a bit of a pout. He looked over at Natasha, and she was surprised by how handsome David was. It wasn’t like she’s never seen a handsome man before. After all, she sees Steve’s face every day.

But there was the same unnatural beauty to him that you had. It was subtle, but still there. His chestnut eyes flittered in a way that made it seem like the sunlight existed in them, and his sharp jawline and cheekbone gave him a charismatic air, even as he scowled. 

“Now look at what you’ve done,” David scrunched his nose at you. 

“The fact that you think Natasha wouldn’t find out what you looked like forever proves to me you’re still a dumbass even though you’re over 300 years old,” you roll your eyes as you toss the mask back to David.

“You don’t know that,” David petulantly rebuttals back but sighs as he looks back over to Natasha. “I heard you looking to build some new covers?”

Natasha nodded with a small smile, but David merely nodded his head towards the stairs.

“I have some started up for you, but I need you to come up with me to finish it.”

“Did you do grocery shopping?” You asked David, who merely looked confused.

You sigh and roll your eyes again and turn to Natasha. “I’m going to head out for a bit to get you some food while you’re with David. Any particular requests?”

Natasha shook her head, “Anything is fine.”

You nodded and turned to David with a bit of a quirk in your brow.

“Be _nice_ ," you whisper towards David too quietly for Natasha to hear. 

David merely huffs but nods slightly before you smile one last time to Natasha before heading out. 

"Alright, come on,” David casually says as he starts to hop up the starts with one of his hands in his pocket while the other holds his mask.

He leads Natasha into a room that is decked out with numerous computer systems and monitors. Off the side, there was newer technology that Natasha was used to, like holographic systems and monitors. 

David pulled up a holographic monitor and pulled up various types of documents.

“I’ve got a couple prepared for you here to start off, take a look and tell me if you want to add anything,” David flicked the screen to face her.

Natasha took a look, impressed with the work. There were a lot of documents included that she would need.

Birth certificates, health cards, visas, passports, resumes, newspaper clippings, school registries, transcripts, and so much more.

Each identity was fully decked out. 

There were about five aliases David had created for her, all reusable and versatile. 

It was much more integrable and detailed than Natasha would’ve imagined.

“This is impressive,” Natasha tells him, “I think these are all perfect.”

David hums. “I’m just building your image for your passports, and then I register them within in the system in case anyone tries to look you up.”

Natasha looks at other things in the room before looking back at David.

“You’re quite the accomplished hacker,” she comments, watching David snort.

“I’m not a hacker,” David looks at her from the side of his eye before looking back to the screen to finish his work. “I’m a technopath.”

Natasha’s brows furrowed. “You have powers?”

David eyed Natasha before speaking, “Yes. I was changed around the 1700s. At first, my powers manifested in the form of nuts, bolts, gears, and wires. It was passive more than anything. But as humans progressed, so did my powers. In this day and age, nearly everything is accessible through electronics.”

David explained his powers a little more to Natasha, who took the information in slowly. She was sure if David ever got his hands onto Tony’s systems, it would be over for the inventor. 

It was quiet for a few moments until Natasha recalled you were wearing gloves.

“Does she have powers too?” Natasha asked abruptly. David turned over to look at the redhead with his eyebrow cocked.

“If she hasn’t told you, I will leave that up to her,” David turned back to his screen. “What _has_ she told you?”

“Just some basics,” Natasha told him and listened as he hummed.

“You can ask me some questions too, I’ll try to answer them the best I can,” David offered, and she gave him a small smile. It seems like he was slowly warming up to her.

“Do you know why vampires have to feed?” She asked.

David seemed to have finished what he was doing and led her back out of the room. “Vampires can’t produce blood in their bodies. Our heart pumps what blood drink to get our body to function. Because we drink blood to supply, eventually, our bodies will run out.”

They took a seat on different couches as David relaxed, putting his head back.

“What happens if you don’t feed?”

David lifted his head, peering at Natasha. “We become absolutely feral. Any rational part of us shuts down, and we will kill anything near us for blood. If a vampire doesn’t feed in that stage, we enter a comatose state until someone feeds us blood.”

“Kill?” Natasha clarified, and David nodded.

“It’s very possible to feed without killing, but in that stage, we’re no longer aware of what we’re doing. We’re no longer aware of how strong we might be holding someone. In most cases, people die from a broken neck because we grasp it too hard,” David’s lips were in a tight line, and Natasha got a distinct feeling that he had experienced what he was telling her.

But for someone who had killed probably more people than she has, he had such soft eyes. 

Natasha was about to ask another question when you opened the door, coming in with multiple grocery bags. A part of her wanted to ask if you needed help out of habit, but you clearly had no problems carrying all of it by yourself. 

Still, David got up and blurred over to you at the kitchen island to see what you got. 

“Oh, you got some good stuff. Might just be tempted to eat dinner tonight too,” David grinned. “Also try to go easy on the blood supply. We should have enough to last us until the next shipment, but getting in touch with the hospital here had some issues.”

You merely nodded, leaving the details up to David. 

“Can I cook?” David asks, and you chuckle before nodding.

“Better you than me,” you shrug, leaving him with the groceries. You walk over to Natasha and plop down next to her. 

“Did David give you your new covers?” You ask and smile as Natasha nods.

“Yes, they were pretty solid identities. Thank you,” Natasha whispers to you, genuinely grateful for you. What would’ve taken her months to get new covers took only a couple moments because of you. 

And your voice about life partners popped up in Natasha’s head.

“YOU’RE WELCOME!” David shouts from the kitchen, interrupting the moment, causing the two of you to laugh.

The evening passes by quickly as you show Natasha to her room, which is across from yours. You tell Natasha to spend some time resting after the flight and get settled in before dinner. 

Natasha didn’t think she was tired, but she did end up falling asleep for about 20 minutes. When she woke up, she took a shower in the bathroom that was in her room, sighing at the hot water. 

By the time she got out, she could smell a waft of food lingering in the air and found her stomach rumbling. When she came down, she saw you setting the table as David finished up cooking in an apron. The way you two moved so easily and in sync showed to Natasha that the two of you must have been together for a long time.

“This smells delicious, what are we having?” Natasha peered over to the stove as David finished plating.

“We are having a calamari salad, crispy dry ribs with a tamarind honey glaze for the main, and a Molten Chocolate Cake served with a berry compote for dessert,” David gave the redhead a small smile. 

“Wow,” Natasha blinked. This was the type of dinner she would be having at a restaurant. She couldn’t even remember the last time she ate something like this with her fellow Avengers. 

“David was a chef at one point,” you tell her as you beckon her forward to take a seat, holding the chair out for her. You take a seat diagonally next to her while David brings over the plates. He takes off his apron and takes his seat across from you.

“Oh, that was a wondrous time,” David recalls when he used to work as a chef, putting food on everyone’s plate.

Natasha nods to him in thanks, taking a bite of the food.

“Oh,” she moans a little from the taste. “Why did you ever stop?”

David laughs, and you roll your eyes as you can tell his ego is swelling up.

“David was getting too much recognition, no matter where he worked. It’s not good for us to ever have photos taken of us or be publically recognized,” you dig in yourself.

Natasha nods with a hum, “I guess it’d be bad if someone realized you never aged.”

“Exactly,” you nod. 

“Doesn’t stop me from occasionally cooking,” David tells the redhead, “but I suppose now that you’re here, I will have more opportunities to cook!”

He actually sounded excited, and Natasha couldn’t help but smile.

“You didn’t have to eat with me, you know,” Natasha seems apologetic to you and you wave it off.

“I think you’ll find it weirder if we merely sit here and watch you eat. Besides, it’s not like eating causes us any harm, and it doesn’t taste half-bad,” you smirk.

“Hey!” David looks up at you with a mock glare, causing Natasha to laugh. 

The rest of the dinner with a pleasant affair with light talks and banter. Natasha learns a little more about how you had come to meet David. 

“You changed him?” Natasha asks with mild shock. 

Previous to that, she has just learned that to change a human, there were two ways. 

To change into a vampire, a human had to die with enough venom in their system. 

One, it could be done slowly over time by injecting venom slowly into a human’s system. You had told her that venom was for the part, passive. As a vampire, you could control how you wanted your venom to react. By slowly building up venom in a human’s system, the change was much less painful. 

There were side effects, of course. It was subtle, but there. Over time, the human would find they needed to sleep less. They would have to eat more, finding their usual amount wasn’t given them enough nutrients. Even their skin would look clearer and glassy, their hair looking glossier. 

The second way was usually in the case of emergencies like the human was already dying. That would usually involve draining enough blood before injecting a massive amount of venom before they could die. It was incredibly painful.

In David’s case, he was dying.

“How?” Natasha asked. Her mind was reeling, knowing you couldn’t feed on people. How would you have changed David without draining him of blood? Maybe you were able to feed on people at one point, but something changed?

“She drained my blood by sucking it out and then spitting it out. She didn’t drink a single drop,” David said grimly, while you quietly drank your glass of wine. 

“You did _what?_ ” Natasha whipped her head over to you. You looked at Natasha while the wine glass rested against your lips before shrugging as if it wasn’t a big deal. 

David shook his head at you.

“When it comes to self-control, there’s probably no one that could ever beat her,” David said as he wiped his lip with his napkin before throwing it on the table as they finished off their dessert. 

Natasha was in disbelief. 

The amount of control you must have shocked her. David described feeding being like the first hit of ecstasy, and it felt like that every time.

To..to change David in such a manner?

Natasha had a newfound respect for you. 

David sighed as he got up, “Alright, I gotta head back to the cave. When I find something, I’ll let you know.” He looked at you, and you nodded as you got up to put dishes away.

Natasha got up as well to help you, feeling fuller than she has been in a long time. She knew she would need to watch herself because eating like she has with David’s cooking would undoubtedly make her gain an unhealthy amount of weight.

“So, you make insanely good coffee while David cooks like a God? Seems a little unfair neither of you regularly eat,” Natasha smirked at you, causing you to laugh.

“Well, you’re certainly more than welcome to ask me to make coffee for you anytime. I won’t even charge you,” you grinned at her. “I think David is secretly happy you’re here as well. He loves cooking.”

You whispered it as if it was a conspiracy, knowing that David would be able to hear to you. He scoffed, and you chuckled quietly as Natasha smiled at what you said.

Natasha’s not sure how to quite explain it, but she feels like she’s at home.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

The night settles in easily as David works quietly. Natasha had gone to freshen up in her room while you had retired to your own.

But even as it got late, Natasha didn’t feel tired, and she debated what to do before she left her room and stood in front of yours.

She didn’t knock immediately and felt a little ridiculous because she knew that you knew she was standing there, but eventually, she rapped her knuckles softly against the door.

“Come in,” she heard a quiet response. Opening the door, she found you sitting in an armchair with a book with the lights off. 

“Hey,” you smile at her, “Can’t sleep?”

Natasha nodded, and you closed your book as you beckoned her over to the balcony. The night was cooler, but Natasha insisted she was fine with her sweater on. Russia was much colder than this, so this was nothing.

The two of them sat against the couch outside, and you threw the thin blanket lying there over her lap. 

Sitting in comfortable silence, Natasha regarded you as you stared at the night sky.

“So, what’s your real name?” She asks to fill the silence, recalling her past interactions with you. 

You laugh as you tell her your full real name.

“You know your last name now doesn’t suit you at all, right?” Natasha quirks her brow.

You shrug. “People hardly ever blink an eye about what names I use. If my last name at the time doesn’t fit, I always say I was adopted or have some interesting thing in my family tree. David is always prepared. We’ve had many different types of last names.”

“Do you ever miss your actual name?” She asks softly, thinking about when the last time someone might’ve called her Natalia was. 

You look up, sighing. “Sometimes. But the girl with that name is from so long ago, she can’t exist in today’s world. She belongs in the past. For now, I’m Elaine, and one day in the future, I’ll be another name. It’s the life of a vampire.”

“Couldn’t David prevent anyone from ever looking that far?” Natasha frowns slightly, feeling sympathetic for you. 

“He could,” you concede. “For the most part, we will cycle through the same name sometimes when enough time has passed. But sometimes, some things are just better to be left in the past.”

It was clearly a preference with a story of its own, but Natasha doesn’t want to push you to talk about such things tonight.

“Do you have a power too?” Natasha asks after the silence stretches too long.

You turn your head back, almost surprised by how incredibly soft Natasha looks. The moonlight hitting her just enough to illuminate her face. She’s got a bit of a natural wave to her hair, and she smells likes like vanilla and dry leaves. 

“I do,” you answer softly, your fingers flexing out of habit. “When I touch someone, I can see everything about them. Every thought they’ve had, things they’ve seen, and to an extent, their future. It’s helped David, and I survive this long.”

Natasha looked at your hands. “Is that why you wear the gloves?”

You nod.

“While it’s a very useful gift, it’s invasive, even if the other person doesn’t know. I don’t like using my gift until it’s about life or death,” you shake your head softly. 

“You’ve never touched any of your partners over the years?” Natasha asks, and you smirk.

“You’d be surprised how creative one can be with sex and gloves,” you half-joke, but sober up a little when you see Natasha’s curious glint. “But no, I’ve only ever touched one person that wasn’t for a life or death situation.”

It was a vague answer, but Natasha accepted it. 

It felt like enough questions for tonight, Natasha still had questions, but she knew enough to be satisfied for now.

The two of you quietly enjoyed the night, looking at the night sky and Natasha braving herself enough to move her hand outside the blanket and grasp yours. 

You had turned over, surprise in your eyes, but you didn’t pull away. 

It was enough for Natasha. 

She leaned over, pulling your hand a little closer until you could feel her breath on your lips.

_Warm._

Natasha was warm, but you already knew that about her.

And under the dimly lit night and cool breeze, you shared a kiss with Natasha that both felt like a warning and the start of something that can’t be controlled. 

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

Months pass by with little to no change. 

Natasha had stopped asking the important questions, even if they itched in the back of her throat. 

There seemed to be some kind of line you had drawn since that night Natasha kissed you. 

You were both still warm and kind to her, but distant. There were no talks about what the kiss meant, but Natasha knew there was something between the two of you.

And she was falling deeper and deeper the more she spent her days around you.

Natasha is a very patient person, she knows that. Whatever is holding you back, it’s clearly something big.

And the fact that you were pulling back when you clearly felt something for the redhead only indicated to her that you were at least serious about her. Otherwise, it would’ve easily pushed forward for a fling. 

You seem to go out a lot. Every day you seem to leave around midday and don’t return until late evening when David is about to finish cooking dinner. 

Natasha sees the look the two of you share, clearly whispers of things she cannot hear, but she doesn’t push it because it’s not her business. She’s here as a guest.

As much as she wants to know, you haven’t shared that with her, and Natasha knows better than to push. 

It isn’t until one day late in the evening that David tells you he’s got some new information for you to check out, and you need to leave immediately to scope the area. 

“This might take me a while,” you tell Natasha softly as you stand before her, fingers unnecessarily itching to touch her cheek, but you force them to remain at your side.

Natasha nods as you leave, staring at your form as you go quickly.

It was in a blink, but Natasha still stares at the door. 

David looks on, biting his tongue. He wasn’t a fool; he had noticed right away. It didn’t help he could hear Natasha’s soft sigh from the first night the two of you kissed.

On top of that, he had noticed you were internally struggling about what to do, as best as you were trying to hide that. 

David has known you for a long, long time, though. And while Natasha may have caught on, David knows why. 

He sighs, grabbing some wine glasses and a bottle that has been stored since the 1980s. 

“Come have a drink with me,” he tells Natasha, hopping up the stairs to the second level balcony. 

“Very nice,” Natasha smiles as he pours her a glass, and she catches the wine choice.

“It’s going to be a long night, and you deserve a nice wine at least,” David gives her a half-hearted smile as he puts the bottle down onto the mini table as he leaves over the railing, gazing out. 

Natasha raises her brow but doesn’t say anything else as it’s a moment to just enjoy the wine and the view. 

“So, what’s got you all melancholy that you wanted to drag me out here with wine?” Natasha asks when the moment is over.

David takes another sip, swirling his glass gently when he lowers his glass and sighs. 

He turns to Natasha, looking more serious than she remembers him looking for the past few months.

“I’m only telling you this because I’ve grown to like you, Elaine would kick the shit out of me if she knew I was doing this right now,” David lets out a forceful breath through his nose.

Natasha smiles lightly because she’s grown to appreciate David too. In ways, she connects with him that she may not connect with anyone else. It’s beautiful to find that in a friend, and clearly, he appreciates it as well.

She stares at him, waiting patiently for what he’s about to say. 

“I love Elaine, I do. I will always stick by her side, and she is my family that I wouldn’t hesitate to die for. But I’m also telling you this as a friend,” he says softly but sternly. “Give up on her." 

The words come as a shock to Natasha. Parts of her understand that something is underlying underneath all of this, but other parts of her don’t.

"Why?” She asks seriously. Natasha watches as David runs his hands through his gravity-defying hair.

“I assume you know that she can’t feed on humans,” David looks at Natasha, and she nods. That’s never been an issue for her, whether you could or not. 

David knows you’ll be entirely pissed at him for telling Natasha, but he knows it’s something you wouldn’t tell her. At least the whole truth. 

“She’s cursed,” David tells Natasha simply.

Natasha blinks.

“Cursed?” She says slowly, almost confusedly. 

David nods. 

“She was involved with someone before I met her. I don’t even know the full story of what truly occurred, but I can tell you that this person consumes her,” David shook his head. “I don’t know what happened, but the end result was that this woman put a curse on her that if she ever tries to feed on anyone else’s blood, she will die.”

Natasha had suspected that there might’ve been someone else in your life previously, but she hadn’t expected this.

“Who could’ve put a curse on her like that?” She wondered out loud, mostly to herself.

“A witch,” David answered bluntly. 

Natasha whipped her head up to look at David with shock.

“A witch,” she slowly said to which he nodded.

“Yes, true witches born with powers in their bloodline did exist. Most have been burned at the stake because of the prevalent witch hunts until about 1750. Some still exist today, but probably in hiding.”

It was like something clicked in Natasha’s brain.

“Is that why the two of you are in Sokovia?” She asks immediately. “You’re looking for someone. A witch.”

David nods once, a little slowly.

“Yes,” he says hesitantly. “That woman’s descendants to confirm if the girl has powers.”

Natasha nods, things making more sense.

“Are the two of you looking for a way to break her curse? I guess it would make sense. If a powerful curse was put on, then most likely only that person, or that person’s descendants with powers could remove it, right? Is that what she does every day? Have you found any leads–”

“She doesn’t want to remove the curse.”

Natasha kept talking at first, but then the words hit her like a freight train. 

“What?” She asks a little breathlessly. 

David presses his lips together, feeling the sting for Natasha. 

“She doesn’t want to get the curse removed,” he repeated. 

“Then why is she _here?_ Looking for that _woman’s_ descendants?” Natasha asks, wanting to let the desperation leak out in her tone.

Had she always felt this deeply for you?

Had she already fallen this far?

Natasha hadn’t thought so, she knew she would down the line if things had continued as they were, but this moment was sobering to her. 

David shrugged helplessly at his friend. 

“Your guess is as good as mine. Regardless of the reason, you can understand why I’m telling you to give up on her,” David licks his lips. “I’m not saying she can’t love you because I can see that she clearly feels something serious for you already, which is why she’s struggling right now. But she’s also very clearly not over her past, and whatever it was, will hurt both of you down the line.”

It was silent, Natasha taking his words into consideration, but before she could respond to David, they heard the front door open.

You were home.

The door had opened rather harshly, and the two could tell whatever you had scoped was not good. 

Putting down the wine glasses, they rushed back and down the stairs. 

Finding you standing there, looking displeased and stressed.

“What’s wrong? Did you find them?” David immediately asks, referring to the descendants. 

You shook your head. “No, but the place you sent me to turned out to be a Hydra facility. I couldn’t get in to look without being noticed, but I could hear what was happening inside. They’re experimenting on humans.”

You looked over at Natasha, licking your bottom lip subtly. 

“I think it’s best you gather the Avengers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so, we are entering AoU. Yes, you guessed it, soon Wanda will make her appearance!


	7. Part VII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Dark themes in this chapter. Light sexual situations, murder, death, and depiction of so.

People were staring at you. 

Steve had immediately came up to hug you when he first arrived. There was a wave of relief to see a familiar, friendly face during all this turbulence in your life.

You had wrapped your arms around him, feeling him envelop around you with his massive arms. 

"Hey, stranger," you muffled against his shoulder. "Didn't think I'd see you."

You felt Steve's body rumble slightly as he laughed.

"Of course I'd be here," he said quietly, "I'm the only one who can say 'Avengers Assemble.'"

You laughed as the two of you finally pulled back, eyes watching the two of you.

"Did you find anything?" You asked, referring to his search for Bucky.

He shook his head. "He's a slippery one, always somehow manages to be two steps ahead of me."

You smile sympathetically at him as you pat his shoulder. "When this is all over, David and I can help you."

You looked over to David, Steve's eyes following you. David seemed to be preoccupied with looking at the Iron Man suit Tony had on from a distance. 

You roll your eyes, already knowing David was plotting to somehow get access to Tony's technology.

"Okay, wait, wait, wait," Tony interrupted, de-suiting as he came closer to look at you. "You're telling me you and Edward Cullen over there are vampires."

"Tony!" Natasha scolded, but the inventor ignored it.

You quirked your brow at him.

"Yes," you merely answer for the lack of anything else to say to that. 

"But you don't sparkle in the sun," Tony was baffled, and you couldn't tell if he was joking.

"This isn't Twilight," you furrowed your brows. 

"Okay, so why doesn't anything happen to you in the sun?" Tony asked seriously.

You knew the man was considered...eccentric, but you were baffled by how his only concerns were about the sun.

Your eyes move to the side subtly to David, who merely shrugs. It's not something the two of you reveal too often.

"I think," you slowly start to say, "you should all rest. It's been a long flight. There are many spare guest bedrooms if you'd like to use them, but I understand you usually have a base set up for missions."

"We're totally going to crash here. This is way better than our base. I'll arrange for any equipment to be moved here," Tony decides while Natasha elbows him in the rib.

"Ow!" He glares at the redhead.

You wave it off to say you're okay with that to appease Natasha. "That's fine. Dinner will be served in the evening, and we'll discuss details then."

"I need groceries to feed this many people. That one looks like he could eat for three people," David looked at Thor.

Thor merely smiled proudly. 

"I'll go get them," you offer.

"I'll go with you." Both Steve and Natasha chime in. They look at each other, staring for a moment before looking back at you.

You wheedle, feeling that awkward feeling you've been having for the last month.

"I only need one person to come with me, so it's fine for just Steve to come," you say, feeling a moment of instant regret when you see the slightest flicker of disappointment in Natasha's eyes. 

But you turn away to walk out the door to your car as Steve follows along.

It was so subtle, no one probably noticed, but still, you felt like an asshole.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

Shopping was an easy affair. You had caught Steve up on what happened since you two went separate ways, except about kissing Natasha.

You were still unsure what to make of the entire thing.

You let Steve drive your car as you sat in the passenger seat on your way back, but when he took the long scenic route home, you turn over to look at him.

"Alright," he says while keeping his eyes on the road, "let's really talk."

"About?" 

He grins with a small chuckle. 

"About what happened between you and Natasha."

You adjust in your seat. "Why would you think something happened?"

"Because you didn't let her come along to grocery shop with us," he says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. 

You shrug, "So? It's true we only need two people to carry this much groceries."

Steve doesn't say anything but turns to give you a look briefly. 

You leaned your head back against the seat and sighed.

"When did you become so perceptive? I missed when you were dumb," you teased half-jokingly. 

Steve huffs with a smile. "Well, honestly, spending time on the run as fugitives with Natasha gave me a little more insight. I caught the look of disappointment in her eyes."

You smile a little, "I think she's changed a little after spending that time with you."

"She's definitely changed because of you," Steve quirks his lips, "So? What happened?"

You bit the tip of your tongue.

"We kissed," you sighed. 

Steve is silent.

You kind of wonder what he's thinking.

"Alright, so what's the issue? You don't like Natasha?" The way Steve said it sounded like he would be confused if that were the case. 

"No, it's not that. I-"

You don't really know how to say it. Because you are indeed attracted to Natasha. There's a strong sense of desire to take Natasha by the waist and make her yours.

But-

"I can't."

"You can't?" Steve asks slowly, trying to understand when he's clearly confused.

You nod, looking out the window as you begin to approach the house. 

"I'm not sure if I have the right to love her."

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

"Another one!" 

You watched as Thor smashed his plate on the ground.

"Oh my god," Natasha groans under her breath.

You sputter out a burst of laughter while David looks displeased of the broken porcelain plate on the ground.

"You can just ask for seconds...without breaking the plate...please," David tells the Asgardian God. 

Thor furrows his brows but agrees.

"So," Tony starts, food in his mouth as he scrapes up more onto his fork. "What's this about the Hydra facility?"

You finish chewing your food as you pull out some files to pass around the table. 

"This is what David could gather so far before you guys came."

They look through the file, occasionally flipping as they took in the information.

"So, everything basically," Clint puts down his file as he finishes the rest of his food and gets up. "I'm getting seconds."

"Not everything," David mumbles, a little grumpy he had stood outside the facility for hours after you had returned the other night trying to find the power lines, but even then there was something off.

"Quite accurate, too," Bruce praised. "Agent Hill only got some of this information to us a couple hours after you did."

"There's some kind of energy shield surrounding the top of the base," David tells everyone. "I couldn't really figure out what it was."

"It has to be Loki's scepter," Thor suddenly chimed in, "there's no way Strucker could build his defense without it."

The rest of the evening was talk of a game plan. 

You really sit there and listen as you have your own plans for this raid.

You try to ignore the fact Natasha's stare from across the table. 

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

You leave to go to your room immediately after dinner is over. You feel like such a coward knowing you were deliberately avoiding Natasha, but you feel like you have reached the end of your rope of knowing what to do.

You had entered slowly that night.

Catching the tail end of David talking to Natasha, you were a little mad that he would disclose something so personal, but in the end, you knew he was right.

You knew that David meant it with best intentions when he told Natasha to give up. Perhaps if you were the one to tell her that night, you would've told her the same thing. 

You leaned against the railing of your balcony, sighing. 

_Knock knock._

You turned your head, but the person entered without waiting for you to answer. Steve comes in, and you give him a lopsided smile as he approaches out onto the balcony next to you.

"Very rude, Rogers. I could've been naked for all you know," you tease.

"And I would apologize profusely, but it looks like that wasn't the case," he smiles back, and you shake your head with a laugh. 

"You're getting much bolder since I've last seen you. What did I say about the flirty behavior?"

"And what did I say we were to each other?"

You look down, unable to hide your smile as you bite your lip briefly.

"Family," you answer. 

Steve turns his back towards the railing, leaning against it with his elbows resting on the concrete as he looks up at the sun setting. 

"I think we should finish talking about what you said earlier," he says after a moment of silence. 

You huff half-heartedly. "Why do I have to have this talk? Why don't you talk to Natasha?"

"Oh, Clint is already bugging her right now as we speak, I'm sure," Steve turns his head to the side to look at you.

You wrinkle your nose. 

You don't say anything else. It's just one of those conversations that you don't really want to talk about, nevermind starting it. 

"Why won't you give Natasha a chance?" Steve asks outright, never one to beat around the bush. 

You lick your lips, teeth dragging across your bottom lip as you tried to think of the right words to say.

"I'm no stranger to Natasha's past. I may not know what exactly happened to her, but my ledger isn't exactly clean either," you slouch over, resting on your elbows.

"Do you think Natasha would love you less for your past?" Steve asked, confused. He truly believed that whatever you've done, Natasha, out of all people, would understand.

You look down at your gloved fingers. 

"No," you answer honestly, "I think she'd love me all the more for it."

"Then what's the issue?" 

You look over at Steve, grim. 

"Do you know why I came to Sokovia?" You redirect, watching as Steve shook his head.

"I came here looking for someone who's going to be there in that facility tomorrow. A descendant from my past. "

Steve was silent, trying to understand what the underlying words were.

"And what will you do once you've found them?" He asks.

You snap your head back, looking over the city. 

"I don't know," you admit. 

"Then why did you come to look for them?"

You stand up straighter, resting your hands on the balcony, one hand over the other.

"When I told you I wasn't sure if I had the right to love Natasha, it's because I'm still chasing my past. It's how I repent for my sin. Natasha saves people to clear her ledger, I keep my life revolved around everything about that person to clear mine."

"You know," Steve starts slowly, looking down at his shoes, "that day I first asked you to dinner, I did for a split second want to say it was a date."

You let the words sink in as you squeeze your fingers slightly in your other hand.

"But then I just got this feeling that you were keeping me at a distance, and no matter how hard I would try to get closer, I would never reach you." Steve looked straight ahead, noticing for the first time how your bed looked perfectly made and wondered if vampires slept. 

Steve turned his head to you.

"But that wasn't the case for Natasha," he stood straighter. "If you don't think you have the right to love, then Natasha must be the exception."

You sighed, turning around as you leaned against the concrete railing, slouching slightly. 

Steve stands in front of you, putting his hand on your shoulder to comfort you.

"I think you and I understand what it's like to chase the past. And in both our cases, people from our past still exist. Natasha is no stranger to this either," he gives you a slight smile. "You should give her a chance to understand your past because you can't deny that she already is your present and that you want her to exist in your future too."

You suck in your bottom lip, releasing it after a moment as you let out a heavy breath. 

"If I take your advice, you better call Sharon Carter."

"How do you know about Sharon?" He laughs lightly.

You stand up, looking at Steve with darling eyes.

"That's cute you think I wouldn't know."

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

You don't realize how long you talk with Steve because, by the time he leaves, it's already well late into the night.

You lick your lips as the house settles. You can hear most people have fallen asleep with the exception of David, who is fiddling in his computer room, and Tony, who seems to be tinkering with his suit in his own room.

You can hear Natasha's breathing as close as you are from her room, and you know she hasn't fallen asleep either but seems relaxed, at least.

Clint had long left her room, and you wonder if the redhead is getting ready to sleep herself.

But you know if you don't approach her tonight, you might just lose your nerve completely.

You knock the back of your fingers lightly against her door, hearing a muffled 'come in' on the other side. 

When you enter in, you see Natasha in her silk pajamas, hair looking soft, and face bare.

She did look ready for sleep, and your heart thudding quietly in your chest as you think about how beautiful she looks.

"Hey," Natasha says slowly, surprised as she sits upright in bed. She runs her hand through her locks, and you swallow. 

"Hey," you return equally as softly. "Can we talk?"

Natasha quirks her brow at you, and you know you deserve it with how evasive you've been with her.

But Natasha has a big heart and opens her blanket to you. You know she's too good for you as you strip off your leather jacket and crawl underneath the sheets next to her.

The two of you sit there quietly as the moment soaks in. You hate yourself for how much you want to kiss her because you know you shouldn't until you talk.

But Natasha seems to be in a forgiving mood when she looks at the vulnerability in your eyes. 

Instead, she starts to lie down, pulling you down with her as she opens your arm, cuddled into your side as she rests her head on your shoulder.

You want to cry.

You really do. 

The smell of vanilla and dry leaves invades your nose as you feel so foolish for avoiding her as long as you have. 

"I'm sorry," you rasp first. 

Natasha hums.

"For?" In some ways, she is not forgiving.

But you hold her closer.

"I shouldn't have avoided you after we kissed," you sincerely tell her.

Natasha hums, seemingly pleased with your answer.

The two of you lie in the dark together, and you wonder how long it's been since you've felt the warmth of someone else. 

"I'm attracted to you," you confess quietly to Natasha, feeling her body pause. "In a way that I know if we cross the line, you're someone that I can't just have for a moment. That's only ever happened to me once before."

It's such a solemn confession. 

Natasha understands because you're telling her you couldn't live without her if you let yourself fall. 

You seem a little terrified. 

Natasha wants to tell you that it's okay. It's okay because she feels the same way, but tonight you seemed determined to talk, and Natasha will let you open up to her.

"David wasn't wrong," you lick your lips, "I don't want to remove my curse."

To hear you admit it was entirely different, and Natasha wasn't sure if she was prepared for that. 

You relax your hold slightly as you settle in, looking at the ceiling. 

"He wasn't wrong to say that you should give on me too," you say as you turn to look at her, your face so close that even an inch closer, your noses would be touching. 

"But before you decide, I want to tell you about me. All of me, and why I'm absolutely terrified to love you and let you love me. Will you listen?"

Somehow, Natasha knows that this story might change everything, change what this mission tomorrow means.

But that doesn't change how she feels about you.

So, Natasha nods. 

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

_Flashback_

_~1570 to 1600s..._

You had been born to a very average life. 

The youngest of your family and only girl. Your parents owned a farm, and some of your siblings helped run the farm, and some were members of a guild.

Your childhood was typical. Many days of struggle sprinkled with moments of happiness. 

As you grew older, you had caught the eye of a baron while shopping in town, and it didn't take long for you to be married off to him.

As you were too lowly born, you could only be his mistress. Still, he was kind and favored you. You thought such treatment would only bring you misery from his wife and her servants, but you were surprised when she adored you as well. 

The day you were changed, you lost everything. 

It seemed to be a planned attack by a vampire who had a vendetta against the Baron.

The vampire brought his apprentice along to take revenge. While he ravaged his revenge against the Baron and his wife, the apprentice was left with the servants.

And you.

Perhaps it was pity or a sick sense of curiosity, but the apprentice didn't kill you. 

When you woke up, feeling like fire was licking at the back of your throat, you noticed you were left at the bloodied crime scene. 

And as sick as you felt looking at the mutilated bodies, you couldn't overcome the thirst.

You couldn't even give them a proper burial.

News spread about the gruesome murder of the Baron and his household. You were dead to the world.

And with the uncontrollable thirst, you didn't dare return home. 

You didn't dare to try to find the vampire and the apprentice who changed you, fearing that may only lead to your death.

With nowhere to go, you spent days hiding, wandering, and traveling alone. 

A decade of pain and loneliness changed you. There was a somberness that existed in you now that hadn't before. 

And the more you fed on people to survive, the more the sadness grew.

It wasn't until you met her on the outskirts of town that you had found a new home. 

"You're a witch," you clenched your jaw, watching her smile amusedly at you.

"You say that with such disdain. It's like calling the pot calling the kettle black."

You don't say anything because the words hit you deep that you're no longer human. 

"Come with me," she told you moments after she quite easily defended herself from you feeding on her. 

"Come with me," she repeated when you didn't respond. "If you be mine, I will never let you be alone anymore."

You stared at her with her outstretched hand and lack of fear in her eyes.

"Who are you?" You strained. 

She tilted her head.

"My name is Tatyana Maximoff."

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

The thing about Tatyana Maximoff is that she's like whirlwind you couldn't ever catch up with. 

She can be sweet and shy, sexy and sultry, charming, and charismatic.

With her long dark brown hair, green eyes, and defined cheekbones, she could lure you into any trap she's set. 

Tatyana may be the only reason you have survived as long as you have, can feed without guilt, and learned as much as you have about vampirism.

She was even the reason you could go out in the sun without burning, giving you a magic-infused necklace.

Even when you have destroyed entire villages unable to control your bloodlust, she would never reprimand you or look at you with disgust. 

You didn't understand what Tatyana saw in you.

 _"You are mine,"_ Tatyana would purr as she held your chin between her fingers, kissing you messily as her other hand slipped underneath your dress. _"You are mine to love, and I will never let anyone else have you."_

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

The day you learned to feed without killing changed everything. 

Tatyana had been your first feed without killing, and the experience was entirely different.

Lustful. 

Intimate.

Consuming.

There was nothing to describe how it felt to have her blood pumping into your mouth. How it led to bedroom activities, and the only thing you could feel her blood, and your venom dancing in her veins. 

She didn't allow you to feed on anyone after that unless you were feeding to kill. 

The life you lived was unconsequential. 

There were many times you've been on the run, especially if the human grew too suspicious or if someone suspected Tatyana of being a witch.

The witch hunts were becoming more frequent and aggressive as the times grew turbulent. 

But none of that really mattered to you when you had forever with Tatyana. 

"Aren't witches still human?" You asked. "How can you live forever?"

Tatyana merely smiled, pulling you into a chaste kiss as she ran her fingers through your hair, grasping it gently. 

"I will do anything it takes to be with you, to keep you by my side."

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

Perhaps you were too ignorant. 

You lived blissfully unaware as a human, and living by Tatyana's side reminded you of such peaceful days.

You fed when you wanted.

Killed with little to no remorse. 

You spent your days doing things without consequence, and loving Tatyana. 

"We'll have to leave again soon," Tatyana sighed as you kissed her softly, enjoying her bare skin under the blankets. She pushed her hips up, and you let her topple you over until she was on top.

She gazes at you intensely, slender fingers brushing against your cheek before her thumb caresses you more firmly. 

"The humans are suspecting me of being a witch. They'll be bringing their torches and pitchforks soon."

You brush her hair behind her ear, your fingers stroking her spine. 

"We'll run before they can come," you whisper. You're not phased by it, seemingly always on the run every few years when you settle into a town.

Running was easier than slaughtering the rioters and drawing attention. 

Tatyana bends down, pressing slow kisses to your jaw.

"I'm getting sick of running," she tells you lowly. "Why can't we live a peaceful life alone? Humans always come to find us no matter where we live. Whether it's in town or away from them."

You sigh.

"One day, we'll find our peace," you tell her, pressing the entirety of your palm against her back. "I guess it's difficult when there's so little of us and so many of them."

It was really just a comment said in passing, but Tatyana momentarily pauses before she resumes peppering kisses against your cheek, jawline, neck, and lips.

"I hate humans," she tells you plainly. 

You had laughed, but perhaps you should've taken it as a warning. 

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

You had been averse to changing another human. 

As supernaturals exist, the only balance is to have an opposing force. 

In your case, it was the church. 

Beyond religious worship for the humans, they were hunters. 

Rumors spread amongst your kind about how priests have been on the hunt to wipe out the supernatural. 

And you didn't want to draw any more attention to yourself by changing people as well. 

When you told Tatyana that she had left it be. You had assumed she may have wanted more people to be around, but she assured you that wasn't the case. 

But she left you be, and the topic was never brought up again.

Tatyana spent her days away from home, but it wasn't uncommon for her to take on projects or practice her magic.

You felt like you might have to move again as when you passed through town, there were whispers of people going missing, and they were seeing strange things in the middle of the night.

It worried you that perhaps the humans were catching onto your feeding patterns. 

Even while feeding on Tatyana, you still fed from the humans, killing them after you were done. 

Perhaps you were feeding on too many people? Or people who had a prominent presence in their town, making the disappearances more noticeable. 

Perhaps someone saw you blearily in the middle of the night?

Whatever the case was, it was going to eventually draw the attention to you and Tatyana. 

There was something strange happening to you as well. You were beginning to notice something whenever you touched other people.

It was getting stronger as the days past. You were hearing things, seeing things in your head when you touched people.

And sometimes, you saw things that had yet to happen but would occur later. 

You hadn't told Tatyana yet because you were unsure of what was happening.

The sun was setting, and you were getting ready to head back home after investigating the village.

But you heard a child wailing a couple blocks away. You tilted your head as you followed the sound.

With everything that has been going on, stricter curfews were being enforced. So by now, kids were long tucked away in their house.

You came across a girl with dirtied hair, crying her eyes out near the alleyway.

You recognized her, though you never paid any mind to her. 

She was the daughter of one of the potato sellers in town. The other kids would sometimes bully her, and you were unsure why.

But you never cared enough to do anything about it. 

Still. 

You walked up to the crying girl and get on one knee to be on the same level with the girl.

"Hello," you said simply. 

The girl stopped crying, looking at you, and she seemed to have some sort of recognition for you, but by the look on her face, it wasn't a good impression. 

It only confirmed to you that you and Tatyana needed to leave soon.

"Why aren't you at home? Do you want to go missing?" You wrinkle your nose.

The little girl seems wary, but she hiccups as she speaks. "Markel pushed me, and my ankle hurts, and I can't walk!"

You look down to see that indeed the little girl's ankle is swollen and you're sure she sprained it when she was pushed. 

You look back up at the little girl's face, wet and red as more tears came out, and she sniffled. 

For a moment, you're reminded of the little girl the Baron and his wife had.

It almost feels like an unpleasant memory you've long buried. 

You sigh, turning around, so your back faced the little girl as you hold our arm slightly out.

"Alright, potatohead, your house isn't too far." You don't clearly say it, but the little girl seems to catch on as she shyly climbs onto your back, putting her tiny hands on your shoulder.

You get up with ease and begin walking. 

"My mother said that you're weird for living with that other lady so far out," the kid says quietly, and you wonder if all kids have such weird conversation starters.

"Yeah, well, your mother doesn't seem to notice that other kids are being mean to you, so who's really the weird one?" You retort back.

It's quiet again as the little girl swings her good leg lightly.

"Has anyone ever been mean to you?" She asks, and you snort.

"Too many times to count, potatohead."

"What do you do?" She asks eagerly. 

You blink, looking up as your head tilts slightly.

"Bite them, I guess?" You answer finally, telling the truth.

The girl's mouth forms a tiny 'o' as she hums as if she's been enlightened.

You stop at the corner of the street just before the house, not wanting to approach the house and have a run-in with the mother.

"I can't walk," the little girl whines as you let her down. You turn to her and flick her forehead lightly.

"Hop."

She frowns at first but smiles lightly when you ruffle her hair. 

The little girl thanks you politely as she hops on one foot towards her house and to the door. 

You watch her make it safely but leave quickly when the door opens to reveal her mother.

On your way back home, crossing through the thick woods, you hear something behind you.

Footsteps. 

You immediately whipped around. 

"If you don't come out, I will be forced to find you," you spoke into the quiet. "And you will not like it if I do."

There was a momentary pause before you heard ruffling again. 

An older gentleman, probably in his late 30s, appears behind from one of the trees.

You recognize right away with his garments that he's a priest. They're a little more suited to traveling outside, but you don't miss the cross in the middle of clothes at the neck and the rosary in his hand.

"Who are you, and why are you following me?" You snarl at him. 

He remains calm. 

"I'm a priest," he obviously states. "I go by Father Leonard."

Your hackles raise because he's a rather renowned priest in his parish. But he's also a famous hunter.

"How long have you been following me?" 

"Weeks."

Your hackles rise because you haven't noticed a thing.

"What do you want?" You ask him warily, unsure why he had been following you for weeks but hadn't done anything. 

He steps out more clearly, and you notice many things about him. 

Like how young he is compared to other priests. A couple of gray strands of hair peppered throughout his ginger hair, and you wonder if hunting vampires aged him.

You notice that his rosary is made of wood from the Methuselah tree, the only lumber able to kill you. The crucifix is sharpened to a point at the end, and you look back at the man. 

"I was going to kill you," he states. "The weeks I have been following you showed me that you don't have any remorse for the way you live."

You glare at the priest, getting ready to bolt.

"And what's stopping you?" You ask because the way he said it sounded like he had no interest in doing so anymore.

Leonard puts away his rosary back into his pocket, standing in a more relaxed position.

"I thought you had lost your conscience. You feed whenever you want, even when you're not hungry, discard the body without thought, and you have no interest in even trying to blend in with the humans," he states, and you're ready to take off because it doesn't sound like anything good.

"But then," he says before you can bolt, "I started to notice you've only hunted...questionable people. Rapists, thieves, murderers. And seeing you help that little girl tonight made me think that perhaps I was wrong."

You stand upright from your stance, looking at the priest in disbelief.

"You don't want to kill me because I eat shitty people and helped one stupid little girl get home?"

Leonard just stares at you. "You could've just left her be. You could've even eaten her, no one would have noticed." 

He says that, but the thought of eating a child makes you feel sick to your stomach.

And Leonard can tell as he smirks. 

"So what?" You grimace. "You're just going to let me go?"

Leonard shakes his head.

"I can outrun you, you know. If I wanted to, I could snap your neck," you tell the priest. 

"Don't underestimate the power of God," Leonard smiles. 

You purse your lips, eyes drifting to the side, which causes him to laugh.

"This is why you're so interesting. You clearly have zero regards for human life, but you won't kill a child. You're standing here telling me you could kill me, but you won't voice your obvious disdain or lack of belief in God. What? Afraid you'll hurt my feelings?"

You're not sure you understand this interaction. What this priest wants from you is still unclear.

"I can't really fathom why you're with that evil, monstrous witch," Leonard furrows his brows, and you frown at him.

"Leave Tatyana out of this," you warn him. 

He cocks his brows at you. 

"You're telling me you condone her activities?" He asks, almost with disbelief. 

"She hasn't done anything," you tell him.

It's silent for a moment. 

"You don't know what she's been doing, do you?" Leonard asks as it dawns on him.

You're unwilling to say anything because you don't know what he's talking about, and you don't want to admit that out loud. 

Leonard almost laughs at you, but he juts his chin out instead.

"Come meet me tomorrow on the outskirts of town," he tells you.

"Why should I?" You sneer at him, but he doesn't react to it or take offense.

"If you think Tatyana will tell you the truth of what she's been doing, then you're more than welcome to leave and ask her," he shrugs, suggesting that he would let you go, "If you have even an inkling of a doubt, you'll meet me tomorrow on the outskirts of town."

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

It's not that you doubted Tatyana. 

Sure, she spent a lot of the day and some nights away from home, and she seemed more frustrated these days, but being on the constant run brings strain.

But Tatyana was the type to kiss you chastely and insist there was nothing wrong then tell you. 

Even so, you know she loved you, that much you know is true. 

So, you're only meeting him, if anything, to show that there is nothing wrong. 

You see Father Leonard standing just outside of town. He smiles smugly when he sees you, and you pretend to not see it. 

"Glad you could make it," he says, and you shrug.

"What exactly did you want to show me here?" You ask.

"Not here," Leonard shakes his head, "two towns over."

You quirk your brow at him. "Do you realize how long that will take you to travel?"

"Not if you carry me," he says as if there's nothing wrong with that at all.

You stare at him.

He stares at you.

"You're joking, right?" You ask in disbelief.

"Not at all."

"There's no way in hell I'm carrying you!" You tell Leonard as if he's crazy, which is probably is. "What? You want to stab me while I'm carrying you? That's low, even for you."

Leonard sighs. "I put my word on God that I will not attempt to take your life if you carry me. You can carry me any way you want if that makes you feel more comfortable."

You continue to stare at him.

He looks at you.

"Despite our natural opposition to each other, I haven't done anything to not warrant your trust."

You purse your lips.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

You're not sure if you've entered some twilight zone where you're running while carrying a vampire-hunting priest on your back. It also looked ridiculous with how much taller Leonard was to you. 

He tells you where you're running too, but soon he doesn't need to say anything because you can smell it in the air.

It's stale now, probably days old, but you would never mistake this smell.

Blood.

And a lot of it. 

You start to slow down until you come to a stop when the smell is much too overwhelming. You're thankful that you're both well-fed and that the blood is stale. Otherwise, you're not sure how you'd manage.

Leonard gets off your back as the two of you walk closer to the empty village. 

The sun shines down, what's supposed to be a beautiful day turns to be horrific. 

There's blood smeared everywhere.

Down the walls of houses and across the floor. Whatever didn't have blood had been leveled down into nothing. 

You could see many burial spots in the ground, but there were still so many bodies left around the village decaying.

It had been a complete massacre that left nothing behind.

And you discovered that it was possible to experience bloodlust and nausea simultaneously.

"We tried to bury the woman, children, and elderly first," Leonard states, looking at the scene, and you wonder how long he's stared at this scene to have no emotion left on his face. "But as you can see, there are still many bodies to be buried."

"What happened here?" You hold your breath in. 

Leonard turned over to look at you with his brow quirked.

"Follow me," he says, turning to walk further into the backwoods area, a little away from the village. "The Vatican will soon come to pick this up late today, but I wanted to show you."

You come to a stop.

There was a giant hole dug up in the ground.

You could hear something snarling inside.

"What is it?" You ask warily.

"Take a look," Leonard nods his head at the ground.

You purse your lips but walk forward to peer in.

The sun's position was angled, so inside the hole was shadowed, but with your enhanced eyes, you could see clearly.

There was a vampire in there.

Or what you think was a vampire. 

He had terrible burn marks, probably from when the sun was directly in the hole, but he managed to dig himself a smaller hole and use the dirt to cover himself. 

There were inscriptions around the edge of the ground. You didn't walk past because whatever it was, it was keeping the vampire inside.

He was snarling and ravaged, clearly was unaware of anything but his urge to feed. 

But he didn't look the way a vampire did when they had reached that level of hungry.

This vampire was sickly pale, his veins underneath his skin prominent on his face.

His eyes were glaringly neon red almost instead of darkened for hunger. Even if he drank blood, his eyes shouldn't have looked like that.

He seemed rabid.

"What's your name?" You experimentally said into the hole.

The vampire lunged forward snarling, only to be repelled back to the bottom when he hit the inscription around the edge.

The thing snarled and snarled, running itself around the hole, and you backed away. 

"What the hell is that?" You asked the priest, lip curling in disgust.

"A vampire," he tells you simply.

"Listen," you turn to him, "I'm a vampire, and I'm telling you that is _not_ a vampire. That thing is barely above a savaged animal."

Leonard turns to you, grim expression.

"That is a vampire on the count that it feeds from blood," he insists, "but it wasn't created the way natural vampires are created."

You shirk back.

No.

_No._

"What are you saying?" You bite out.

Leonard clenches his jaw.

"Your lover is attempting to turn people into vampires by magic, and she's releasing them into villages."

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

That night when you returned home, you were alone. 

You couldn't tell if you were relieved or not because you're not sure how'd you even face Tatyana.

You don't want to believe it. 

But the questions, the long hours away from home, the subtle comments come back to you. 

You take a deep breath in, focusing as you breathe out. 

You hear the water running by the stream, but you can also hear light footsteps.

You take off running towards it. 

You've never interrupted Tatyana's personal time as she tended to be a private person who liked her solitude when practicing her witchcraft. 

But this time, you cannot simply ignore it. 

When you approach, you find a little hut made. You can hear Tatyana inside, and at first, you're relieved because it doesn't sound like anything out of the ordinary.

But then you hear another heartbeat in the room, and you immediately enter, breaking the door wide open. 

You can't even believe the scene before you.

There was a teen boy who looked no older than 17, chained to a table with Tatyana standing before him with her book.

 _"What are you doing?!"_ You nearly shriek.

The kid looks worn and bruised, and he's crying profusely, but seemingly can't speak or make any sounds.

Tatyana looks shocked to see you.

"What are you doing here, my love?" She asks calmly instead, shutting her book. 

You run around the tables, breaking the chains off the teenager.

"I wouldn't do that," Tatyana tells you, but you ignore her and help the kid up.

You force him to look in your eyes, pupils exploding as he falls under your spell.

_"You will run back to your village, saying you had tripped and got lost in the woods. You will forget everything that happened here. You tripped and got lost in the woods."_

It seems to work as the teen boy got up, leaving through the door, not even once looking back.

When he was gone, you whipped back to Tatyana.

She looks back at you expectantly.

 _"No,"_ you turn around, shaking your head because even though the evidence is right in front of you, you refuse to believe it.

But Tatyana comes up to you, putting her hand on your arm, but you whip away harshly.

"Don't make this difficult for me, my love," she tells you, still in that calm and steady voice, but that only makes you angry.

You whip back to her, gripping her arms tightly.

"Tanya," you plead. "Please, _please_ tell me that you're not trying to turn people in vampires using your magic."

But she stays silent.

 _"Tanya!"_ You yell. "Do you know what you're doing? You can't use your magic to do this, who knows what the consequences of that is, and it's only turning them rabid as they raid villages."

She pushes you away roughly. "Who _cares_ about the villages! Do you even remember that village? They burnt a woman at the stake just months ago saying she was a witch when she wasn't! She was a sad widowed woman who just wanted to live alone."

You bite your tongue because you agree those people are cowards. 

But...

"There are innocent people in those villages," you tell her. "Those children haven't done anything wrong."

"Those children grow up just to be like their parents," Tatyana sneered.

"But until they do, they are innocent," you shake your head. 

"Don't you think we're innocent?" Tatyana grabs onto your sleeves. "We're innocent too, and yet, we're the ones who have to be always on the run. I have to worry about whether or not some man in the town will think I'm a witch simply because I reject his advances. Because if he does, it's too easy for him to bring a mob to our house and burn us down inside it."

"I would _never_ let that happen to you," you hold her.

"It shouldn't happen in the first place!" She screams at you. 

But you hold her shoulders, almost shaking her a little bit so she'd understand.

"Tanya, I would rather have the quiet days that we have and be on the run when we have to go. Even in some cases, if you were put on the stake, I would level entire villages for you. But that hasn't happened, and it never will," you tell her softly and watch as Tatyana has tears welling up in her eyes. "But what you're doing threatens our entire way of life. T _he Vatican_ is after you. And as we are now, we can't win against them. I barely have control over my thirst, and I'm still considered a new vampire." 

"Then let them come," Tatyana's eyes glow red, wisps of power dance around her finger, but you shake your head.

"No," you plead her.

"I thought you would understand me," she whispers, tears falling from her eyes. "Why should we have to live in fear? When will we have those peaceful days you promised?" 

You pull her into your embrace, holding her tight.

"There's no one more who understands you more, but I'm still asking you to stop. It's a wonderful dream to think we'd live in a society where we don't have to run, but I'm not willing to lose you. I'm not willing to risk the lives of innocent people for my peace."

You pull back, hoping Tatyana would understand the desperation in you.

"I love you," you tell her, and the words seem to comfort her.

"Please tell me you'll stop," you beg her.

Tatyana looks at you, she cups your cheek, and you lean into her warm touch.

"I love you, too," she says softly. "There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you." 

You smile lightly, kissing the inside of her palm.

And using your bare fingers, you hold her hand. 

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

"You seem to seek me out a lot, but you never have anything to say."

You didn't look as you sat on the rock near the river next to Leonard.

"When is The Vatican coming?" You ask instead.

Leonard looks at you with his brow quirked. "Are you planning to take Tatyana and run?"

You don't say anything, neither confirming or denying it. 

"You can't outrun The Vatican forever, trust me. If you think I'm good, they've got a hunter in their team the equivalent to having 20 of me."

The silence hangs between the two of you. 

"Are they going to kill her?" You ask after a moment.

Leonard shrugs. "Maybe, there's a possibility she'll be taken as a study subject."

You curl your lip in disdain.

"Hey, don't look at me like that," Leonard holds his hands up, "I think it's also barbaric to hold live test subjects. It's why I turned down being in The Vatican."

You sigh.

"Tatyana isn't a bad person," you say into the air.

The priest hums. "So, what would you call someone who's forcibly changing people and setting them ablaze in villages?"

"Lost."

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

The night of a full moon, you felt something different in the air.

Almost something electric. 

You woke up to an empty bed, Tatyana's side cold, an indication she was gone hours ago.

Something drops in the middle of your stomach as you get up and run out of the house.

There was smoke and flames in the distance, and you knew something horrible had occurred. 

You took off without a second thought.

You and Tatyana were supposed to leave before the sun rose, staying in this village already too long. She had complied without resistance about running again, and you had felt for a second things were back to normal. 

But when you entered the village, you put your hand over your mouth in horror.

Those things Tatyana had created were running loose in the town. The townsfolk had torches and pitchforks trying to defend themselves, but it could hardly do anything against the creatures.

You looked over to see one of the creatures running towards the little girl you had helped home the other day. She was crouched over her parents, who were brutally murdered with their heads missing. 

She let out a bloodcurdling scream as she saw the monster leap towards her, but before it could, you had intercepted, swinging your thigh around its neck as you landed ontop and ripped its head off clean.

It fell limp as you threw its head towards a villager with a torch who had a good sense to light the thing on fire. 

You picked up the girl who immediately held onto you as she cried.

"Hey, it's okay," you tried to reassure her amongst the chaos in the town. There were screams, and the smell of blood was permeating the air. Many houses were set aflame, and there were bodies everywhere. 

You passed one of the adults, giving the kid to her. 

"You need to round up everyone you can and head towards the river," you tell the man who nodded, scared of you, but nodded.

You start turning to the creatures to kill them off, throwing their heads into the fire. It was getting a little overwhelming, and one of them lunged for your neck as you were trying to catch your breath.

You shirked back, ready to take the hit when a stake flew right into the creature's neck, his entire body staggering before he disintegrated into dust.

You look over to find Leonard standing there with blood running down the side of his head.

"You owe me for that one," he breathlessly says, coughing as he falls to his knees.

You immediately ran to him, trying to help him up.

"What happened here?" You ask him, trying to assess his wounds.

"Guess your talk with your lover didn't work out," Leonard looks over in a couple blocks. "She came here with her army to level this village down. The Vatican is on its way right now."

"Are you going to be okay?" You asked, concerned as he coughed up blood.

"Yeah, just set me down. I can do some healing if you just give me a few moments," Leonard says, and you set him down against a stall that hadn't been set on fire yet.

"I don't have a few moments," you tell him, "I have to find Tatyana right now and stop her."

You're about to run off when he grabs your hand.

"Take this," he says, putting his rosary in your hand.

"You want me to kill myself?" You ask, looking at the only wood that could kill you.

He laughs, almost wheezes painfully as he shakes his head.

"God's power is imbued in it. It'll make you immune to her magic, but only for a minute. Break the beads when you're ready to use it."

You purse your lips, nodding at him in thanks before you run off. 

You see the townsfolks running as they've gathered everyone they could to the river like you said, but before they could take a step further, several creatures surround them.

"Where do you think you're going?" Tatyana appeared from behind pole, her eyes glowing red.

"Witch!" One of the men cried, and Tatyana smirked at him. "What are you going to do? Burn me at the stake? I think you'll find a little trouble when you're about to die yourself."

"TANYA!" You scream.

It gathers the attention of everybody, including hers. 

"You've made it to the show, my love," she smirks, "I was merely passing by on my walk since I couldn't sleep, and what would you guess? I pass the villagers planning their next witch hunt. Who was their target? A fifteen-year-old orphaned girl."

Tatyana whips her head towards the town's major.

"What? You didn't like that she didn't want to give her body to you?" She sneers. "She must be a witch because she didn't want to sleep with you, huh?"

The town mayor only stuttered because he was stricken with fear.

"Tanya," you say slowly, "The mayor is a disgusting pig, I agree. But if you wanted to punish him, you only had to kill him. Why are you targeting the rest of the villagers?"

You're trying to approach her slowly. 

"They're all guilty," Tatyana emotionlessly says. "The people who go on the witch hunt, the people who stand by and do nothing. They're all disgusting pigs."

She looks at you. "Don't you understand? We'll never be safe from humans. They're a disease. If they can turn on their own kind, what do you think will happen to us?"

"Tanya," you call to her, but she doesn't even seem to hear you anymore. 

"Kill them," Tanya says, her lips sneering in disgust.

The creatures seem to animate back to life as they lunge towards the humans.

You immediately jump in, able to kill three of them before you feel something surround your body as it's whipped back, and you land several feet away. 

You hear screams that you know you'll never forget, and when you get back up, it's over.

What's left is just bodies and limbs.

You stagger forward, and you recognize the little girl.

At least you know it's her arm.

You want to vomit.

Tears well up in your eyes as you look up at Tatyana, angry. 

"Get over it, my love," Tatyana walks to you, bending down as she grasps your chin in her fingers. "Stop defending the humans who look to destroy our way of life. To me, there is only you. So to you, there should only be _me_."

You slapped her hand away, standing up, feeling close as the emotions fade from your eyes as you stared at the bodies.

"That night, I knew you'd never stop," you told her hoarsely. "When I touched you, I knew. I saw that you only got worse."

Tatyana doesn't say anything.

"But I let you be because I couldn't bear losing you. Because _I love you_ , I thought we would keep living the way we are, that you'd see reason eventually."

You look up at her, "But you're already too far gone, aren't you?"

Tatyana sniffs, standing back as she the remaining creatures stand to defend her.

"I'm asking you one more time, Tanya. Give this up. Give this up and leave with me. We can travel anywhere you like. We can live in the mountains, or in the jungle. We don't have to live by the humans."

Tatyana lets out a bark of laughter. "That's how you want to live? You want to live in the middle of nowhere, like banished sheep? That's your idea of peaceful days?"

Tanya uncrosses her arms.

"You're the one who needs to give this up, my love. This is foolishness. We belong on this earth just as much as they do. And if they can't learn to share because they're scared, then I will show them why they should be afraid and start anew. I'm doing this for us."

"I never asked you to do this for me," you shake your head.

" _Regardless_ ," Tatyana bites, "you are mine to love, and I will do anything for us. Even if that means I have to fight you and subdue you until this is over."

"Love and fear have made you lost your way."

Without saying anything else, you lunge forward, the creatures blocking your way to getting to Tatyana. 

Tatyana took off, and you were worried you were going to lose her, but suddenly more stakes were being thrown.

You looked to the side to see Leonard standing there, still looking beat up but better than when you saw him last.

"I got this," he tells you like he's out of breath. He holds out his bible filled with circles and inscriptions. He rips out the pages as before he puts the book away. 

He bites his thumb, breaking the skin to reveal blood as he smears them onto the pages. 

Something seems to happen, but one by one, the creatures begin seizure, and you nod at him as you take off after Tatyana.

You catch up to her with ease, but she uses her power to hold you in place, lifting you in the air.

"You can't beat me," she tells you.

You're constricted in place. 

"No," you strain, "and I really don't want to."

You feel beads running down your arm into your hand.

Tatyana looks at you, ready to take off again.

"But we can't go on like this anymore," you shatter the rosary, the beads falling onto the ground as you land, the magic wearing off on you.

Tatyana tries to hold you in place again, but as Leonard had said, there was no effect on you. 

You only had a minute at best. 

You leap towards her, even as she tries to run and sink your fangs into her neck.

The action causes her to freeze immediately. You begin to drain her at an alarming rate, frequently biting over and over to largen the bite marks and let blood flow out fast and easy. You take the cross from the rosary in your hand, piercing her heart with it.

When you begin to hear her heart rate slow down, you stop, but ready to pick up again. But Tatyana uses the last of her strength to put her hand on your cheek, signaling you to stop.

You swallow, licking the area wounds close.

But she would not have enough blood to survive.

You thought about snapping her neck to make it a painless and quick death. 

"Don't you dare," she whispers as if she knew what you were thinking. "If you're going to kill me, you will watch me die slowly. This is all the time we have left."

You feel the tears well up in your eyes.

"Why couldn't you just be content with what we had?" You painfully whisper.

"Why did you not want more for us?" She whispered back.

You close your eyes, teardrops falling from your eyes, and landing on her cheek before running down the side.

"I'm sorry," you whisper.

She looks at you, breath slowing as she weakly lifts her hand. She falters, but you catch her hand and put it to your cheek. 

Tatyana strokes your cheek like the many times she did before, pulling you down close to her lips.

 _"I will never forgive you,"_ she whispers like it's a love confession. "Even if I'm gone, I will never allow anyone to have you. You will never be able to taste the love and passion from feeding on anyone's blood but mine."

She presses her lips against yours, letting her blood smear across her lips as the last of her life fades, and she goes limp in your arms.

Like an echo, a curse flitters in your ears.

_"You are mine to love, and I will never let anyone else have you."_

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

Natasha swallows painfully.

Tears run down the side of her eyes. You finish the story, and even as long as time has passed, you still feel Tatyana's blood on your lips. 

You blink, turning your head over to Natasha, who is silently weeping. 

Natasha sits up, and you follow her lead as you lift your gloved fingers to wipe away her tears, even if fresh ones fall.

"That is why I cannot remove this curse," you whisper. "It's the price I pay for killing someone that I loved and someone who will never forgive me for betraying her."

Natasha chokes on a sob, bringing her hand to her mouth as she closes her eyes.

You smile sadly, lifting your hand to lower hers away from her face.

"But even so," you say quietly and slowly. "I can't stop myself from falling for you."

You drop your hand from her cheek and turn away.

"But as you now know, my vows to protect and love mean nothing."

Natasha feels an overwhelming emotion consume her.

Like a moth to a flame, she doubts that without you, she would have never been given the privilege to experience such emotions.

She lifts her hand, grasping your cheek as she forces you to look at her.

Look at the determination in her eyes.

The devotion and forgiveness in them.

"You don't have to promise me anything because I promise to you that I will love you, that I will protect you. If you accept my promise, then you have nothing to fear when it comes to loving me and letting me love you."

The emotion swallows you whole.

Natasha is unrelenting, and you are so thankful for her.

You wrap your arm around her waist as you pull her forward. Your eyes drop to her lips, and Natasha licks them before she leans forward.

Her kisses taste like a vow, and you hope to be bound by them forever.


	8. Part VIII

You’re starting to understand how the dynamic works between the Avengers. While everyone is a star in their own way, they come together as a team seamlessly. 

You look around at the chaos on the field, snickering when you hear in your earpiece of Tony making fun of Steve for saying, “language!”

“That’s not going to go away soon,” you hear Steve mutter. 

“David, do you know how to take down the shield?” You ask.

You hear David hum.

 _“I don’t know. There’s a pathway under the north tower. Blow it up or something,"_ You could picture David shrugging.

"Oh my god,” you mutter.

 _“Hey, that was my idea!"_ Tony flippantly said as he flew towards the north tower while David hung casually from Tony’s ankles. 

There was so much happening on the field. Tony was sending his Iron Legion bots to help the civilians, though you doubt the civilians will appreciate it.

You were watching rather idly on the field, occasionally taking out an android or soldier. But you could hear something in the area. 

Footsteps.

Footsteps that were much too fast to be a soldier or an android. 

You looked at Clint, who was hiding behind a tree, pulling his arrow in his bow to try to take out a bunker. He shot the arrow, but before it could reach the person manning the bunker, someone caught it.

Clint seemed confused, but you had seen it somewhat clearly. It was shocking to you. 

A blond, almost silver-haired man with a trimmed goatee and 5 o'clock shadow was… _running_. That was the best way you could describe it in your eyes. 

To the human eye, he was a blur.

"We have an enhanced on the field,” Steve notifies everyone when Clint had tried again, but the intruder had caught it, and Clint was hit by a blast in his side as he was distracted by his shock. 

“Clint’s hit,” Natasha tells everyone else right after. “He’s going to need evac.”

“I’ll take care of the enhanced,” you let everyone know while Thor says he can take Clint to the jet. 

You take off, running in the direction you saw the speedster go. It’s relatively easy for you to catch up with him. He seemed to be making his way back to the base. 

Even though you’re a relatively older vampire, you can’t seem to catch up with him completely. You’re trailing behind him, but even so, that seems to surprise him. 

He stops in his tracks, causing you to stop as well. He stands there before you, eyes wary as he takes you in as you try to remember everything in David’s file.

Pietro Maximoff.

“What are you?” He asks, accent thick in his voice. 

You cock your brow at him, “You know that’s rather rude to ask a lady.”

You see the slightest twitch in his lip. You take his face in more slowly this time. 

There is part of him that reminds you of Tatyana, and you’re sure he’s her descendant. 

“You’re different,” he comments, “but I don’t remember seeing you as part of the Avengers.”

“I’m really just a part-timer,” you tell him.

He takes in your response. You stand still, trying to listen on the field because David’s file told you there were two of them.

You don’t hear anything else on the field, and when your eyes dart to the side for just a moment, Pietro smirks. 

“You’re fast,” he says, “but you’re not as fast as me." 

Before you have anything else to say, Pietro takes off again. You have half a mind to chase after him, but you know it would only be a game of tag. 

"Careful out there. Pietro has run off, and his sister is not in the area,” you warn the team. 

_“We’ve got all the data from their systems; I’m going to head back first to process it all,”_ David speaks back into the intercom. 

You’re about to take off towards the base when you hear Natasha advise they’ve locked down their positions and Steve telling her to get Banner. 

You pause. 

You know the girl, Wanda, is likely to be in the base with Tony, and you really should go because David has left, and Tony shouldn’t be left alone.

But…

You turn around, running off towards Natasha. 

It was a shot in the dark plan that Bruce had come up with some time ago. Bruce asked that Natasha be the one to try to bring him back since Tony would be busy handling the inside of the base, and for some reason, Natasha was the next person he thought would be able to bring him back. 

Still, you were worried.

Trust or not, you know what the Hulk is capable of, and your instinct wouldn’t let Natasha face that alone. 

You quickly find the Hulk grunting as he walked around the snow in a secluded area. You step out quietly, undetected as you see Natasha approaching from the other side. On the outside, she appeared completely fine, but you could hear her heart trembling in her chest.

You didn’t step out into view because this was for Natasha to do, and you didn’t want to overstep your boundaries with Bruce, but you would intervene if necessary.

“Hey, big guy,” Natasha softly said so that he wouldn’t feel threatened. The Hulk growled at her, stepping towards her, and you felt your thighs tense, wanting to move forward immediately, but you held yourself.

In terms of strength, you weren’t stronger than the Hulk. But your odds were definitely better than anyone else’s, and your body would be more durable if he hit or threw you.

And while Natasha may be enhanced, the Hulk could accidentally kill her. 

“The sun’s getting real low,” Natasha coos, putting her hand out in front of him as she kneels. 

The Hulk scowls at her, breathing heavily. He stares at her hand, and to Natasha’s credit, her hand was as still as a stone. The Hulk grunts again before he reaches his hand back out to her, flipping it over before placing the backside of his hand down onto Natasha’s. 

She swallows, trying to give him a reassuring smile as she strokes his hand. For a second, you think you see him relax a little.

But something shifts, and you’re unsure if it’s because of Natasha or because of the Hulk. Whatever it is, you sense the change immediately, watching his shoulders tense and tremble, the low grumble in his throat. 

Before you know it, you’re digging your foot into the ground. It goes through the snow, breaking the gravel underneath and your hand ripping off part of the tree’s trunk as you burst towards Natasha.

Before the Hulk can knock Natasha into the air, you hurdle into her, rolling a couple feet away in the snow. The redhead is breathless, surprised to see you. 

“What are you–” She starts to say as the two of you stand up.

“Stay here,” you tell her as you blur in front of the Hulk. 

Natasha feels her heart fills with fear as you stand before the Hulk. You look so tiny compared to him. The rational part of her brain knows that you’re not human. You’re stronger, stronger than many people out there. You’re an immortal, and she’s aware that only one thing can kill you.

But she can’t help but feel fear because Natasha couldn’t help herself from feeling it in front of the Hulk.

Natasha watches you, your mouth reared back in a snarl, and your teeth look _sharp_. 

And then she felt it.

An invisible crackle in the air. 

The hair on the back of Natasha’s neck stood, and it felt like her feet were being rooted to the ground. She looks at you again, and your eyes are glowing red. 

And it’s the first time Natasha realizes that you are a _vampire._

A predator. 

Dangerous.

You look at the giant creature before you. His muscles are tensing under the pressure you’re exerting.

He hasn’t moved from his spot, but he’s growling and roaring at you. 

It’s not enough, you know.

It would be nearly impossible to compel him to simply turn back. 

You turn, taking a silent step, so light and quiet that it doesn’t even leave an imprint in the snow. You hold your finger out, catching his attention, and the Hulk snarls at you. 

Calmly, you bring the finger between your eyes, the red fading away. The Hulk follows the movement, looking right into your eyes. 

Your pupils expand, looking like they’ve exploded into liquid tendrils.

 _“Relax,”_ you command lithely. 

You can see the Hulk trying to resist, but his pupils are dilating in and out. He’s grunting, glaring at you, but you remain expressionless.

“Look around you,” you softly say, his head turning automatically. “There’s no more danger. It’s just you, me, and Natasha. There’s nothing to be angry at. Nothing to smash.”

The Hulk looks back at you, and you still have your compulsion on.

 _“Relax,”_ you tell him again.

This time, he stares longer, eyes remaining dilated.

He let out a puff of air, a small whine before he started shaking his head. Not long after, he staggered back, falling to the ground stumbling as he began to shrink, and the green started to fade. 

When all was said and done, Bruce Banner lay in the snow, getting up slowly as he watched his surroundings. 

You close your eyes for a moment, pupils returning to normal as Natasha starts to move towards Bruce. Your instincts still feel like they’re on haywire, wanting to immediately intercept her from getting closer, but you’re able to rationalize that Bruce isn’t a threat anymore.

He’s simply a man, with a beast sleeping inside. 

Natasha gives him his clothes that he changes into behind a tree. When he comes back out, he gives you a self-deprecating smile.

“I’m guessing the lullaby didn’t work?” He asks.

You shrug. “It did a little. Perhaps if it was someone you were closer to, it would’ve worked all the way.”

A part of you felt like if you didn’t monopolize Natasha’s time, she would’ve become a good friend to Bruce.

Not to say there weren’t now, but there was hardly a bond. 

“How did you get me to turn back?” Bruce asks.

“Compulsion,” you answer simply. 

“You can compel me to turn back?” He asks, surprised, a tinge of hope in his voice.

You shake your head.

“Not exactly,” you clarify. “I used compulsion to sway you into calming down. You weren’t exactly on a rampage, so it made it easier.”

Bruce bites his tongue but gives a sharp nod. 

Right after, you hear Steve in your ear saying they’ve secured the scepter. The twins have escaped, but it was time to head back to the Quinjet. Bruce starts to head back first, and Natasha starts to follow, but you stop her.

She looks back at you curiously. 

You can’t help it.

Your instincts are going off even though you know Natasha’s not in immediate danger. 

You can’t help but check her over, eyeing every bit of her to ensure she’s not hurt. Natasha seems to know what you’re doing, smiling lightly as she steps forwards into you, wrapping her arms around you.

“I’m okay,” she reassures you. 

You blink, momentarily surprised, but you wrap your arms around her. 

“Why did you come?” She asks you. “I know you were planning to meet the twins.”

You inhale her scent slowly, feeling the relief hit your system. 

_“Nothing,”_ you rumble, pulling back to look at Natasha’s face. “Nothing could keep me from you if there’s a chance you might get hurt.”

You lift your hand to cup her jaw, slowly stroking her cheek. Natasha leans into your touch, eyes fluttering closed for a moment before she looks back at you.

Her green orbs have you captivated, and you can’t help but stare into her eyes, remembering every detail of them. The tiny speckles of sun within the lush forest of her eyes have you falling for her all over.

“I want my vows to mean something with you,” you mumble, leaning closer to her face, eyes dropping down to her lips. 

Natasha’s heart flutters as she feels her eyes closing. She grips the back of your jacket tightly between her fingers. 

“Your vows?” Natasha husks. 

The tip of your nose touches her, and her nose feels cold. You can see your own breath out in the cold as your lip brushes against hers.

“You’re mine to protect,” you say before closing the distance, pressing your lips against hers softly.

You find that her mouth is much warmer.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

You wished that Natasha would’ve let you take her back first class again, but she seemed to think it would be better to travel back as a team.

That being said, she was adamantly against you buy everyone’s plane ticket first class. 

You shifted in your seat, feeling uncomfortable in the aircraft as you watch Steve fly. It doesn’t help that you can hear Bruce playing opera music through his headphones. You know it probably helps him relax, but you can’t help but feel like it’s doom music. 

You watch as Natasha goes over to him, trying to comfort him as she turns his music off.

“Hey, the lullaby half-worked. Don’t beat yourself up too much.”

“Yeah,” Bruce shrugs. “I just didn’t expect Code Green.”

“If you hadn’t been there, there would’ve been double the casualties. My best friend would’ve been a treasured memory,” Natasha smiles.

“You know, sometimes exactly what I want to hear isn’t exactly what I want to hear,” Bruce looks at her.

You resist the urge to snarl at him because you can tell it makes Natasha feel bad when her intention is to make him feel better.

“Thor, report on the Hulk?” Bruce asks, shifting his attention to the Norse God. 

“The gates of Hell are filled with the screams of his victims,” Thor happily shares.

You resist the urge to laugh when Bruce groans, and Natasha glares at Thor.

You catch David’s eye from across the aircraft and find he’s also smirking.

“Uh, but, not the screams of the dead, of course,” Thor tries to backtrack. “No, no, uh…wounded screams, mainly whimpering, a great deal of complaining and tales of sprained deltoids and, and uh… and gout.”

“It probably would’ve been worse if you weren’t there,” Bruce says as he looks at you, and you merely shrug. 

“Can you compel me to not change or compel me to change back when I’m the Hulk?” Bruce asks, looking hopeful.

Everyone looks at you.

“Compel?” Tony asks as he squints his eyes at you.

“Out on the field. The lullaby didn’t quite work as well as we thought. If she hadn’t been there, I don’t know what I would’ve done to Natasha,” Bruce purses his lip in shame. 

“What did you do?” Tony asks you, but Bruce cuts in.

“I don’t know how to describe it,” Bruce starts. “I mean, for starters, I only remember bits and pieces of it, but it was like something overcame me, overrode what the Hulk was feeling. It allowed me to change back.”

You felt like you were getting an oncoming headache from this.

Tony looks at you suspiciously, and you roll your eyes.

Before you can say anything, David jumps in to explain for you.

“Every vampire has a power called Compulsion,” he draws the attention to himself. “We can essential mind control humans by having them look into our eyes. It’s generally not something we can use to control people forever, but it does get stronger with age, training, and diet.”

“Diet?” Clint clarifies from his spot.

“Human feeders are always more powerful than vampires who choose to feed on animals. Blood bags are the halfway point,” David shrugged.

You turn to look at Bruce.

“Either way, the answer is no,” you tell him. “For one, it’s not a power I like to use unless the situation calls for it. While you may feel that every case the Hulk is in calls for it, I don’t. Secondly, I didn’t compel you to change back. As I said, I only influenced you to remain calm. It’s unlikely I can compel you to turn back if the Hulk’s willpower overpowers mine when he’s wild. Thirdly, I’m not your keeper. I’m not interested in Hulk-sitting for you if we’re out on missions.”

It’s rather blunt, but you don’t want to beat around the bush regarding this matter, lest you wanted Bruce to keep trying to convince you.

“You sound like you trust him,” Bruce grumbles unhappily. 

You shrug once more. “It’s not about trust. He’s a part of you, whether you want him to be or not. He’s not going anywhere. I accept that about you. Do you?”

Silence falls over the aircraft, but you don’t care. Bruce stares at you, and you quirk a brow at him.

He doesn’t provide you his answer, most likely because it’s a no, but tension rises.

“Anyways,” Tony breaks up the quiet with his own brow cocked. “Dr. Cho’s on her way in from Seoul. She’s gonna set up in your lab, that okay, Banner?”

“Uh, yeah, she knows her way around,” Bruce blinks.

Just like that, the rest of the ride is spent discussing the mission, the scepter, and Strucker.

At some point, Natasha comes to sit next to you. You fingers twitch, wanting to reach out to her, but you force them to remain at your side.

“Hey,” she whispers, but it clear as day for you.

“Hey,” you say back, smiling lightly when you feel Natasha’s pinky atop of yours.

You suppose flying in the aircraft wasn't _all_ awful.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

“How you holding up, bud?” You asked with a slight drawl that had Clint chuckling as he winced. 

Dr. Cho was arguable one of the most beautiful women you’ve encountered, and she had a slight bite in her that made her easy to get along with. 

Clint merely makes a grunt and a sequence of grumbles that get you chuckling back.

“You sure he’s going to be okay? Pretending to need this guy really brings the team together,” Natasha asks as she looks at Dr. Cho.

Clint playfully glares at her while she smiles innocently back at him.

Dr. Cho smiles reassuringly at the redhead. “There’s no possibility of deterioration. The nano-molecular functionality is instantaneous. His cells don’t know they’re bonding with simulacrum.”

“She’s creating tissue,” Bruce says with amazement in his voice and eyes wide. 

You’re lost on the rest of the talk as you look around the room and machinery. David would know much more regarding the technology in this room, but he was currently with Tony working on the scepter. 

“I hear that your venom does exactly the same thing my work does, if not faster and better,” Dr. Cho says, grabbing your attention. You can tell she fascinated with you by the look in her eyes. “Would you be interested in giving me a sample of your venom or blood?" 

You give her a smirk but shake your head.

"I’ll have to politely decline,” you tell her as everyone looks at you in the room. “While my venom is capable of healing someone, it’s also capable of killing or changing someone. The last thing I want is for the wrong person to potentially get their hands on it and figure out how to activate my venom that way. On top of that, using venom has side effects.”

You look at Clint, “I only use it for life or death situations on humans. Otherwise, I would’ve healed you on the field.”

“What kind of side effects?” Dr. Cho asks.

You hum.

“Every human reacts a little differently to it. But generally, the more venom a human has in their system, they take on features of a vampire. It’s very subtle,” You wrap a strand of hair around your finger. “Maybe their skin gets clearer, hair gets a little shinier, they feel less hungry or even find they need less sleep. Of course, it’s not forever because the venom is eventually diluted out by more blood being produced in their system if a vampire doesn’t continually inject them with venom.”

“That doesn’t seem like bad side effects,” Clint frowns.

You smile at him before you release your hair and go back to crossing your arms. 

“Perhaps not, but sometimes the symptoms come in another form too. Like you’re hungry, but for some reason, food just isn’t hitting the spot for you." 

He blinks at you. 

"Are you saying…” he drags, not wanting to say it out loud as he scrunches his nose.

“That as a human, you might get the craving for blood and possibly drink it to satisfy the craving? Yes." 

Clint visible shivers in disgust and gags at the thought, and you shrug with a laugh.

"That’s why I prefer to not use my venom unless I have to. While everyone reacts to it differently, I try to not take the chance,” you look at Dr. Cho.

“Wait, wait, wait–” Tony interrupts. “Capsicle told us you used it on Natasha.”

You nod, not seeing the problem.

“Well, I highly doubt she was going to die from a gunshot wound, and there was a medic there,” Tony states like it’s obvious.

You tilt your head with quirk your brow. “Well, one, I was making a point of revealing I was a vampire. Secondly, I was– _am_ attracted to her, and now I’m dating her. Her safety will always be my number one priority. I will always use my venom to heal her if she’s hurt.”

“That’s just favoritism!” Tony shouted indignantly. 

You gave him a look that just screamed, ’ _Yeah? Have you not been listening to me?’_

Natasha let out a burst of laughter at Tony’s face.

The rest of the time was spent bickering about tonight’s party, and you couldn’t help but catch eyes with Natasha every few minutes. 

And she’s looking back with you with half-lidden eyes.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

You have an unsettling feeling in your stomach, though you aren’t sure why. David seems to feel the same as you can see him across the room, tapping his foot impatiently.

“What’s wrong?” You say quietly, garnering only David’s attention.

“I don’t know,” David sighs. “You know how I was looking at Tony’s system and helping out with the scepter, right?”

You hum.

“Tony is trying to build some kind of protection legion for the world, but something feels off,” David says quietly, barely moving his lips. “I feel like I saw something I wasn’t supposed to see.”

You hum again. Tony had seemed off-balance to you. He was clearing suffering PTSD from the alien invasion in New York, but then he seemed more… _off_ after returning from the base in Sokovia. It was subtle, but he appeared to be slowly becoming unhinged to you.

“Tell me about it later,” you tell David, who nods sharply. 

You set off to try to enjoy the rest of the night. 

“Well?" 

You look over the bar as you lean over the counter. Natasha’s looking absolutely delectable tonight. She had given herself a haircut before the mission, and while you somewhat missed her long hair, the short haircut was doing it for you too.

"What can I get for you, sweetheart? I think this one’s on the house,” Natasha flirts with you. You’re barely holding your own smile as you look at her. 

“I’m not sure what kind of drink I want, but I do know I want to take the bartender home. Do you think she’ll let me?” You ask with an innocent look that has Natasha smirking.

“Play your cards right, and she just might.”

Natasha winks at you before she has to go to the other end of the bar to help another person with their drink, but not before leaving a rum and coke for you.

You watch her saunter off, looking just delicately over her shoulder to smile at you before she focuses on the person in front of her. 

“See? Told you things would work out.”

You look beside you to see Steve standing there with a big ole’ grin on his face.

You roll your eyes.

“Must be hard being right all the time, huh?” You joke.

“Yes,” he sighs dramatically, “but it’s a burden I must carry.”

You both burst into laughter, and you let out a light sigh. You had missed Steve with the time apart, his friendship is so important to you. Steve is looking at you gently too, and you’re happy to know he feels the same.

“Have you called Sharon?” You ask.

“Somehow, I knew you wouldn’t forget that,” Steve quirks his lip.

“A deal’s a deal, pal,” you lick your lips. 

“You’ll be happy to know that I did. There may be an upcoming date,” he seems almost proud of himself, and you can’t help but smile.

“Atta boy!” You smile as you slap him on his shoulder.

“You sound like Bucky when you say that,” Steve shakes his head.

“Any leads?” You ask with a sympathetic smile.

Steve shrugs. “Sam is still chasing, but I’ll catch up with that later.”

“Well, let me or David know if we can be of any help.”

Steve nods in thanks.

The night starts to fade in as the rest of the party gathers around the coffee table, sitting haphazardly with their drinks in hand. You’re sitting on the divan couch with no sides or back, while Natasha is leaning half her body on you with a bottle of beer in hand. 

Everyone’s currently trying to see if they can lift Thor’s hammer. 

You watch as Tony and James try to pull it together, it’s truly a hilarious sight to see. 

You and Natasha grin as Bruce tries, even attempting to turn into the Hulk to lift it while everyone eyes him warily.

“Good attempt, big guy,” you give Bruce a thumbs up. 

“How about you try, Elaine?” Bruce gentlemanly gestures to the hammer, and you snort.

“No thanks, I already know I’m a piece of shit, no need for a magical home depot tool to confirm it for me,” you grin, swigging back your drink to keep it light-hearted. 

You feel Natasha softly brush your hand over your glove, and you turn your hand over so you can intertwine fingers. 

You wish you could kiss her right now. 

Steve is next in line, and Tony smirks at him.

“No pressure, cap,” Tony steps aside. 

Steve rolls up his sleeves and begins to pull on it.

Thor is laughing because it seems like nothing is happening. 

But, ever so slightly, it budges. Thor seems to catch the movement as well as his face drops. 

But the hammer doesn’t move anymore after that, and Thor resumes his laughter and jolly.

“Nothing,” he laughs with relief.

You chuckle lowly, Natasha feelings the vibrations against her. 

“What?” She asks quietly. 

You’ve long finished your drink, using your free hand to wrap your arm around her waist. Pulling her closer, you turn your head so that your nose is right against the top side of her head.

“One day,” you whisper in her ear so that only she may hear, “Steve will be worthy.”

You finish with kissing the top of her head while Natasha blinks with wide eyes, processing the information. 

“Widow?” Bruce looked over at Natasha.

The surprised look on her face dissipated as she smirked, leaning more into you as she held up her wine bottle.

“Oh, no, no,” she shakes her head, taking a sip of the beer, “that’s not a question I need answered.”

The jokes go around some more about how the hammer is rigged until Thor stands up. 

He grabs and lifts the hammer with ease, tossing it in his hand.

“Yes, well, that’s, uh, a very, very interesting theory. I have a simpler one,” Thor smiles, “You’re not all worthy.”

Everyone groans good-naturedly, even with someone throwing some chips at Thor. 

Suddenly, there’s a loud screech. 

Everyone hunches over as they cover their ears. With your super hearing, the screeching is even more painful to your ears. 

When the noise fades, and everyone slowly gets up, you look over at David, who is staring behind you. 

You turn over to see a limping…robot? Wires were hanging out everywhere, and he looked like a scrap of junk metal. 

“Worthy… No… How could you be worthy? You’re all killers,” it slowly spoke. 

“Stark,” Steve called with a little bite in his tone.

“JARVIS,” Tony called, but nothing replied. 

“I’m sorry. I was asleep. Or…I was a-dream?” It tilted its head.

Tony pulls out his device, tapping on it as he looks like the monstrosity before them. “Reboot. Legionnaire OS. we got a buggy suit.”

Nothing seems to be working even as Tony taps away.

The robot stumbles forward, tilting its head downwards. “There was a terrible noise…and I was tangled in… in…strings. I had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy.”

“You killed somebody?” Steve asks, narrowing his eyes.

You look over to David, who is staring at the robot. He’s doing his best to scan it, but you know he needs to touch it to deactivate it. 

“I didn’t hear anyone in this building die. Did you?” You speak fast and quiet.

“No, I think that thing did something to JARVIS. JARVIS is supposed to be the first line of defense, but JARVIS isn’t responding,” David spoke back. 

Suddenly, you hear a playback recording of Tony saying he sees a suit of armor around the world.

“I’m starting to feel like we should’ve had our conversation earlier,” you mumble while David scrunches his nose.

“Ultron!” Bruce calls out in realization. 

“In the flesh. Or, no, not yet. Not this…chrysalis. But I’m ready. I’m on a mission,” Ultron’s voice stutters, but you’re sure it’s just the suit falling apart. 

“What mission?” Natasha asks, and you can see everyone reading their guns.

Ultron looks up, his movements are stiff, but he looks back at everyone. 

“Peace in our time,” Ultron says before Legion bots smash through the wall and begin to attack everyone in the room. 

You immediately cover Natasha, landing atop of her. You can hear guns being fired as you look back down at your girlfriend.

“You know, we’ve been in this position way too many times this week, and it’s not for the activities I was hoping for,” you half-joke. Natasha at least has the sense of humor to smirk at you before you pick her up and blur over to behind the bar. 

“David, go find out what you can! I got it here, but I won’t be opposed if you come back!” You shout.

“Got it!” David had taken down one of the bots before he ran out of the room. Ultron had looked his way, but David was too fast to be stopped.

“This is fun, isn’t it?” You asked sarcastically.

“Considering we’re being attacked by robots, I’m going to say David is carrying our fucking asses,” Natasha quirks her lip at you as she readies her gun.

“I resent that,” you tell her. “It’s true, but I resent that.”

You peek your head up, looking to gauge your situation. Everyone seemed to be trying to tackle a bot on their own. You turned back to look at Natasha, who is eyeing the stairwell over to the side. 

You think it might be faster to take down Ultron, but you’re not sure it will stop the bots. Not to mention, you’re unsure if taking down the crickety suit that Ultron was in would even truly stop him or if he could transfer his consciousness into another bot.

You hop over the counter, immediately dodging a fire shot at you as you run at lightning speed to a legion bot, leaping in the air as you wrapped your arms around its neck, yanking it off with ease. 

It immediately powers down as you crush the head into scrap metal, bolts, and screws falling onto the floor. 

Natasha takes the chance to run to the stairwell, making her way up as she fires bullets at the bots, but the bullets seem to ricochet off, and you’re not surprised since it was Tony who made them. 

You see Steve’s shield on the floor, and you roll your eyes as you run over to it and pick it up, swinging it into the neck of a bot that Clint was trying to take down.

“Thanks,” Clint huffs. “I was just about to give that back to Cap.”

“I’m starting to feel like a boomerang would’ve been better than a shield,” you roll your shoulders back.

“I mean, it’s got the perfect shot, apparently. It can ricochet back to him…” Clint shrugs.

“And yet, it was here on the floor.”

You turn your body over.

“Steve!” You call out, grabbing his attention. He turns is head as you throw his shield towards him. “You mind giving me a lift?”

He catches his shield, bracing it against his body, angled towards the ceiling as you run towards him. He seems surprised by the speed as you leap onto the shield, and Steve propels you upward.

You use the momentum to leap onto the bot floating in mid-air. It tries to use its arm to grab you, but you grab it with brute force as you rip it off from its body. You quickly then grab the head and rip it off. It powers down and begins to fall, and you adjust your position so that your feet are in the middle of its chest, crushing the body entirely as you land on the floor. 

You still see a couple half-baked bots flying around, and you sigh. 

A bot catches your attention from the corner of your eye as you see one flying towards Dr. Cho. It looks like it’s about to shoot at her, but it lowers its weapon for some reason instead. 

You’re about to go save her when you see David come in from the side, merely touching the bot, and it powers down before David punches a hole through its chest.

He turns around, smirking at you before he takes off, taking care of the rest of the bots in the same manner. It’s only seconds before all the bots have been deactivated, and David comes to stand before Ultron.

“Well, that was dramatic!” Ultron tilts his head as he looks at you and David. “And who might you be? You’re not part of the Avengers.”

“You won’t find anything about us regardless of where you look,” David shakes his head. “You can’t win against us. Me, in particular.”

Ultron seems to pause before continuing on. “I’m sorry, I know you mean well. You just didn’t think it through. You want to protect the world, but you don’t want it to change. How is humanity saved if it’s not allowed to…evolve?”

He picks up one of the dismembered Iron Legion bots, holding it between his hands. “With these? These puppets? What a joke." 

Ultron looks straight ahead at everyone. "There’s only one path to peace: The Avengers’ extinction.”

Thor immediately throws his hammer towards Ultron.

“Wait!” David yells, taking off after the hammer, but he’s a second too late when the hammer crashes into Ultron, dismantling his body. 

The lights begin to dim as he fades. As he disappears, Ultron sings his last words. 

“I had strings, but now I’m free. There are no strings on me…no strings on me.”

“Fuck,” David sighs. 

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

Everyone stood inside the lab, looking at the broken bot bodies, and other various things. 

The scepter was gone too. 

“It’s all gone,” Bruce sounded devasted. “Ultron cleared out everything.”

“Not everything,” David mussed his hair. “He’s been in everything, though. Files and surveillance, he may know more about all of you than you know about yourselves. I’m surprised you keep everything on hand here with such shitty encryption.”

“Hey!” Tony shouted indignantly, but David shrugged.

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t catch him in time when he got dismantled. I destroyed all the bots in here so he couldn’t transfer his consciousness, but he escaped into the internet. It’ll take some time for me to track him down." 

"He got into your files, he’s in the internet. What if he decides to access something a little more exciting?” James stood to the side with his arms crossed and brows furrowed.

“Nuclear codes?” Maria realized.

“Nuclear codes,” James nodded. “Looks, we gotta make some calls, assuming we still can.”

David waved his hand. “I already took care of that. I got into the system, and the codes are continually being scrambled. The algorithm changes every minute. Though, I do suggest you make your calls and figure out the best way to handle that.”

“You hacked the Pentagon,” James said in disbelief.

“Trust me, I wouldn’t have been the first,” David looked unimpressed.

“That is true,” Tony nods, knowing he’s done it himself.

“I’ll be right back,” James pulled out his cell.

“I’ll go with you,” Maria took off with him. 

“Nukes?” Natasha turned around, crossing her arms. You’d given her your sweater to wear, and she pulled it closer to her body. “He said he wanted us dead.”

“Not dead,” Steve jumped in. “He said extinct.”

“He also said he killed somebody,” Clint recalled.

“Was there anyone else in the building?” Steve asked.

“Yeah,” Tony frowned. “There was.”

He pulled up a 3D image of JARVIS’s destroyed consciousness. 

“This is insane,” Bruce ran his hand through his hair as he looked at the fragmented pieces.

“JARVIS was supposed to be our first line of defense. He would’ve stopped Ultron, it makes sense.”

“Not if Ultron assimilated him,” Bruce shook his head. “This wasn’t a strategy, this was…rage.”

“I wouldn’t worry about JARVIS too much,” David shook his head as he circled around the 3D image.

“What do you mean?” Bruce looked at David. “He was completely obliterated.”

“No,” David shook his head. “He wasn’t.”

David walks over to the computer, shooting up a holographic screen.

“I had some help scrambling the nuclear launch codes,” David began typing away. 

“Help?” Tony squinted his eyes as he moved to stand next to David.

“JARVIS, the clever little bastard he is, managed to erase his memory and scatter himself all over the internet,” David gave a small smirk.

“So, he’s a little bit everywhere…” Tony said quietly, nodding to himself.

“Yep,” David confirmed. “It’ll take me some time to find and collect him. I have a lot of other things on my plate.”

“Told you,” Natasha whispered as you had your arm around her waist, hips touching. “Carrying our asses.”

“Damn straight! Overworked and underpaid here!” David yelled, clearly hearing her, and you rolled your eyes. 

“You can always ditch her and come work for me. I offer quite a competitive salary and comprehensive benefits,” Tony smiles. 

“I would rather saw my leg off, but thank you,” David answers without looking at him as he continues to work.

“Well, I–” Tony starts, but suddenly Thor flies in straight for Tony, grabbing him by his neck and lifting him up.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! It’s going around,” Clint’s eyes go wide.

“Come on, buddy, use your words,” Tony gasps through the hold on his neck.

“Oh, I have plenty of words to describe you, Stark,” Thor glares.

“Thor! The legionnaire,” Steve redirects his attention. Thor drops Tony, but not before giving a displeased look at him.

“The trail went cold about a hundred miles out, but it’s headed north, and it has the scepter,” Thor told Steve, but then turned his head back at Stark. “Now, we have to retrieve it. Again.”

Thor’s tone was miffed, and as he should be, he was annoyed.

“I don’t understand,” Dr. Cho looked at the metal parts before turning to look at Tony. “You built this program. Why is it trying to kill us?”

Tony bursts out into laughter, and you feel like it only reinforces your thoughts about how he’s becoming…unhinged. 

“You think this is funny?” Thor asks with a grimace.

Bruce is just shaking his head at Tony, trying to get him to knock it off.

“No, it’s probably not, right?” Tony says, but he’s still laughing. “Is this very terrible? Is it so…is it so…it is. It’s so terrible.”

“This could’ve been avoided if you hadn’t played with something you don’t understand,” Thor lifts his hammer and points it at Tony disapprovingly.

“No, I’m sorry,” Tony stops laughing, seemingly sobering up. “I’m sorry. It is funny. It’s a hoot that you don’t get why we need this.”

“A hoot?” You mumble as you furrow your brows. 

“I don’t think this the time for this, Tony…” Bruce murmurs from the side of his mouth as he’s still trying to shake his head.

“Really?!” Tony exclaims in disbelief as he looks at Bruce. “That’s it? Someone snarls at you, and you show your belly and give up?”

“Yeah, if I created a murder bot,” Bruce points out.

“We didn’t!” Tony argues. “We weren’t even close. We weren’t close to an interface, were we?”

“Now, don’t shy away from responsibility,” David cuts in as he turns to face everyone, leaning against the desk. “That’s an unattractive quality.”

“Who asked you?” Tony scrunched his nose.

“No one, but since I’m doing nearly all the work, I’ll say whatever the fuck I want,” David smiles. 

“Oops,” you mumbled, drawing Natasha’s attention, “here he goes.”

“You created this AI program. Maybe you weren’t close to an interface for it, but you should’ve planned for in case it went sentient. What? Your only goal for this AI program was to maintain peace for the earth?” David scoffs. “You’re an absolute moron because you know what Ultron’s going to come to the conclusion of? Humans are bad for the earth.”

“You’re absolutely insane,” Tony shakes his head. “That’s not what I intended for the program. The program is meant to protect the earth.”

“Perhaps that was your intention,” you cut in, letting go of Natasha as you stood straighter. “But it’s clear that Ultron has deviated from your intentions. Protecting the earth is one thing, but you’ve forgotten what you’re truly trying to protect: the _people_ living on the earth.”

“The Avengers were supposed to be different than SHIELD,” Steve sighs, and you shrugged.

“Does anyone remember when I carried that nuke through the wormhole?” Tony blinks in disbelief at everyone.

“No, never came up,” James entered the room, catching the last of the conversation.

“You know, when I saved all of New York,” Tony looks around.

“Never heard of it,” James deadpanned.

“Remember? When we had a hostile alien army coming through a fucking hole in the sky from space. We were standing three hundred feet below it,” Tony points at the ground. He looks at everyone. “We’re the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all day, no problem. But that up there? That’s…that’s the end game. How were you guys planning on beating that?

"Together,” Steve tells him, and Tony looks like he wants to laugh again.

“We’ll lose,” he tells Steve.

“Then we do that together too,” Steve says somberly, and Tony just stares at Steve.

“Not that we would lose,” David shrugs.

“You actually think that we’d win?” Tony asks in disbelief, truly thinking David is an idiot.

“You’re Ultron’s creator, and unfortunately, you’ve put the worst parts of your personality and paranoia into him,” you defend David, shaking your head as you spoke.

“I don’t think an alien invasion that _actually_ happened and could happen again would be considered paranoia,” Tony quirked his brow.

“There’s no doubt there’s a possibility that it could happen again,” You shrug your shoulders. “But you assume that The Avengers is the be-all, end-all, that _you’re_ the be-all, end-all. You assume that you guys are the only people in this world that can fight whatever shit humans can’t handle. David and I are literal proof that other supernatural or mutants exist. There are the twins out there too.”

You tilt your head. “I know this is your team, _your friends_ , but even if we lose, there’s always going to be a new generation of people who will stand up and fight. Each generation of heroes will be better than the next. We do what we can as superheroes, but we don’t need perfection to achieve peace.”

“I’m not a superhero,” Tony shakes his head.

You give him a light smile. “Could’ve fooled me.”

Tony just stares at you before sighing. 

“Alright,” Steve claps his hands. “Ultron is calling us out. I’d like to find him before he’s ready for us. The world’s a big place, let’s try and make it smaller.”

Everyone dispersed, and David came up to you, scratching the back of his head.

“I’m gonna head back to my place to grab a few things, and shower before coming back,” he tells you. “What are you doing to do?”

You ran your gloved fingers through your hair and licked your bottom lip. 

“Probably head back to my place too to get a few things. I’ll check a physical trail for Ultron if you give me a lead,” you sigh. 

“You going to use your gift?” David gives you a sympathetic smile.

“Yeah,” you grumble. David pats your shoulder before he leaves.

The room has mostly cleared out except for Steve. 

You feel someone hold your hand, and you turn to Natasha. 

“You’re going to investigate?” She asks you, and you nod.

“Need company? I think between David and Tony, they’ve got the digital trail covered.”

You smile at her as you curl your fingers around her hand.

“Can’t think of anyone better to accompany me,” you lift her hand to kiss the back of it. “C'mon, I’ll take you back to my place. We can check in on Allison too.”

Natasha smiles as she squeezes your hand.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

Familiar. 

It’s been days since they’ve escaped the base in Sokovia out in the cold. 

It’s been so long since she’s seen the street markets, she almost feels foreign to it. 

Yet, even as she tries to enjoy the freedom she now has, her mind keeps _drifting._

_“Wanda.”_

Wanda snaps her head over to Pietro.

“What?" 

"Are you okay? I’ve been calling you for a couple minutes,” Pietro frowns as he tries to assess his younger sister’s well-being.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Wanda waves her hand. “It’s just weird being out after being inside for so long.”

Pietro hums, agreeing. 

“Come,” he says, “We’re almost at the church to meet whoever is reaching out to us.”

Wanda nods as Pietro turns to keep walking.

Wanda clenches her jaw, willing herself to focus on the mission before her. She doesn’t understand what’s wrong with her. 

It had started when she met up with Pietro again after she had let Tony Stark take the scepter. 

Once they escaped, the images from Pietro hit her.

It had been brief. Wanda was still learning to control her gift, and sometimes that meant she accidentally looked into Pietro’s mind. 

But still, she saw _you_ and hasn’t been able to get the image of you out of her head since.

Wanda hadn’t told her brother. After all, it was clear that while he did find you interesting, he wasn’t fascinated by you like she was. Even if she did tell him, she wouldn’t know how to explain it anyways. 

She kept replaying Pietro’s interaction with you over, and over, and over again. 

Wanda’s replayed it so much, she’s almost convinced she was standing there too.

Familiar. 

You were beautiful, no doubt, probably the most beautiful woman Wanda had ever seen. 

But it was like she’d known you before, but that wasn’t the case. Wanda would’ve remembered you if she had. 

Wanda wishes she had been in Pietro’s place when he met you. You were clearly different if you were able to keep up with him.

It’d be easier to understand–to know you if she had been the one there.

But she knew she’d eventually meet you.

Because Wanda only had one goal.

And that was to ruin Tony Stark and his little bandwagon of _superheroes._

While Wanda may be curious about you, she’s convicted to her goal, and if you were truly with the Avengers…

Wanda would ruin you too.


	9. Part IX

Antique.

That was the best way Natasha could describe your place. You had more warm colors for your walls and older styled furniture that made her feel like she was transcending time. 

They had just gotten back from visiting Allison, who was beyond ecstatic to see you and Natasha. Her mother seemed to be all better now, and no longer needed the extra care for Allison. The babysitter you had recommended last time seemed to be working just fine for them when her mother needed to pull extra shifts, but you still promised to visit Allison when you could.

"Your place is nice," Natasha smiles softly, and you turn your head around to smile back at her as you grab a cup from the cupboard. 

"Really? David says I have the taste of an old person. To my defense, I am old," you snort. 

Natasha chuckles, "I like it."

She feels a little excited because it looks like you're making coffee for her, and it feels like it's been such a long time since Natasha has had your coffee.

"Even though I've lived so long and have adapted, this style makes me feel more at home," you softly explain, and Natasha's eyes turn tender.

You finish brewing Natasha her coffee and bring it over to her. She takes a sip, sighing with bliss.

Grinning at her, you're about to say something else when your phone buzzes in your pocket. Pulling it out, you check to see that it's from David.

"We've got to head out," You tell the redhead. "David's got a lead for us."

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

Your search didn't yield much more than what David could find, which was annoying. Luckily, you didn't end up having to use your gift and instead used compulsion to find information. 

Natasha trailed along, watching you work but also making herself useful when she could. 

Within two hours, you felt like you already found out what you could before heading back to shower and head off to the Stark tower again. 

When you get there, you already see David talking with Steve and Maria.

"Fatalities?" You could hear Steve ask. 

"Only when engaged," David says as he catches your eye when you enter the room. "Mostly guys left in a fugue state going on about old memories, worst fears, and something too fast to see."

"Maximoffs," Maria mutters, and you're curious about Wanda's powers. They seemed similar to Tatyana's, but you want to confirm if Wanda's powers had only come from the scepter. 

"That makes sense that he would seek them out. They have something in common," Steve said as he saw you approaching. "Find anything?" 

"No more than you did, apparently," you shrugged.

"Well," David says as he's looking at his tablet. "Nothing in common anymore." He flips the tablet and a picture of Strucker's dead body and the word 'PEACE' written in blood on the wall next to him.

"Lovely," Maria huffs. 

You see Clint on the phone just a couple feet from you, and Steve notices him too. 

_"So, you're not coming home tonight even though you explicitly said you would,"_ you here a feminine voice on the phone. 

"That's a negative," Clint says.

_"This better be your last one for a while, I don't care what your boss says,"_ you hear the woman respond. In the background, you could also hear two kids screaming, _'Is that dad? Can I talk to dad! Dad!'_

"I answer to you," Clint responds almost dutifully. 

_"...If you miss the birth of our child...I'll kill you..."_

"Yes, ma'am."

"Barton," Steve interrupts, "We might have something."

"Gotta go," Clint says quickly before he hangs up and turns to face you all.

"Who was that?" Steve asks.

"Girlfriend," Clint's eyes travel to you and David because it was obvious he knew you had heard him.

Steve doesn't pay it any mind as he leads everyone back into the room. You and David lag behind because Clint is walking beside the two of you.

"Listen--"

"It's none of our business, Clint," you cut him off with a wave. "We didn't hear a thing."

Clint sighs and gives you a smile of thanks.

"Although, you should be more careful if you're trying to keep them a secret," David says as he tapped away on his tablet.

He then holds up his tablet to you and Clint, a photo dated two years ago of Clint and his family on a ride at Disneyland.

"This you?"

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

You've known as a vampire, it's impossible to get headaches, but it doesn't stop you from feeling like you have one.

Everyone is getting ready to get out onto the Quinjet to take off to the next location to find Ulysses Klaue as you'll be likely to find Ultron and the twins there. 

There isn't much for you to ever prepare for, so you laze around in the kitchen before Natasha strolls in, the first to finish.

"Hey, you," she smiles, and you walk over to her.

"Hey, yourself," you smile as you inspect her suit. "Got everything?"

"Hopefully," Natasha shrugs.

You know you'll most likely meet Wanda soon, and something inside you tells you it'll bring chaos. 

Nothing ever truly feels like it's over, but you have Natasha. 

You look at her with slow eyes.

Sometimes it feels wrong to be this happy with Natasha, to allow yourself that kind of privilege. But there are no words you could use to describe what Natasha is to you and how you crave her. 

Natasha peers through her lashes, catching the look in your eyes. She walks backward, pulling you with her until she hits the counter before she hops herself up onto it. Pulling you closer by the collar of your shirt, you end up between her legs, your hands automatically around her waist while hers are around your neck.

"When you have that look on your face, it makes me want to just...eat you," Natasha licks her lip, and you can't help but laugh lightly as she traces her thumb over your bottom lip. 

"You know how funny that sounds, right?" You smile.

Natasha merely smirks as she lowers her head to press her lips against yours in a soft kiss.

She tastes like remnants of peach candy, and you hum into her mouth. Licking her bottom lip, you hold her hips tighter.

Good.

She smells _good._

Like vanilla and dry leaves. 

You bite her bottom lip gently, appreciating the way she moans lightly. It seems to excite her more as her heart pounds in her chest. You pull away, lowering your head as the tip of your nose drags against her side of her neck. 

You inhale as Natasha holds your neck a little tighter.

You could hear it, _smell_ , the blood rushing through Natasha's veins.

It would be so easy.

Natasha would be delicious, you just know it. Her blood hits every part of your sensories, and she would feel so good.

Your teeth drag lightly where your tongue had been.

_'You can't.'_

The voice and words ring in your head loud and clear. 

Immediately, you pull away, almost panting as you do. 

Natasha calls your name, but you shake your head.

"I just need a moment," you tell her, taking in a deep breath.

You haven't felt this way in so long, you felt like a child experiencing bloodlust again. 

It had been so easy throughout the years to control it, knowing the consequences if you did it.

Yet, having Natasha tested every limit you had again. 

You never thought you would ever experiencing wanting to drink from someone again. 

"I'm sorry," Natasha says hesitantly. She had been so caught up in the moment, and you felt so good. 

For a moment...she...she _wanted_ you to bite her.

You clear your throat as your head clears again.

"Don't apologize," you give her a tight smile, "I should have better control."

Natasha is about to say something else when you help her down from the counter.

"C'mon," you say as you pull her along, "we should head to the Quinjet."

And Natasha's words die on her tongue. 

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

"Don't compare me with Stark! He's a sickness!"

You all come in time just as Ultron has sliced off Klaue's arm as he rants about Tony. 

"Ahh, junior," Tony appears with Thor and Steve behind him. "You're gonna break your old man's heart."

"If I have to," Ultron tilts his head.

"Daddy issues, am I right?" You lean over to David to say, but loud enough for everyone to hear.

"He's not a villain without one," David says back.

You hear a laugh disguised as a cough from Pietro. He smirks at you, and you give him a slight quirk of your lip back. 

But then your eyes travel next to him.

It hits you in the gut. 

A million flashbacks happen to you, and you feel like someone just knocked all the air out of your body, and you're breathless. It's like you're going through a spiral of vertigo until you look her in the eyes.

She looks like her. 

You were prepared to see the similarities, but this was more than you had expected. 

But you knew it was not Tatyana.

You blinked, eyes focusing on Wanda. 

She was staring at you too, but she didn't seem sure of what to make of it.

"You two can still walk away from this," Steve's voice interrupts the two of you.

"Oh, we will," Wanda rips her gaze from you, tilting her head as she smirks sardonically at Steve.

"I know you've suffered," Steve acknowledges, and for a second, you see rage flash through Wanda's eyes because while Steve knows, he doesn't truly know what they've been through.

Ultron lets out a groan of disgust. "Captain America," he says with a certain tone to his voice. "God's righteous man, pretending you could live without a war."

"I can't physically throw up in my mouth, but..." Ultron tilts his head, looking at Steve.

Thor tries to urge Ultron to keep the peace, but Ultron obviously declines.

"What's the vibranium for?" Tony asks.

Ultron looks as giddy as he can. "I'm glad you asked since I wanted to take this time to reveal my evil plan!"

Suddenly, Iron Legion Bots break through the glass and start attacking. 

You and David have split up, he's taken off after Pietro and you to find Wanda. 

Taking out Klaue's men along the way, you keep walking in the direction you could hear her in. 

Her footsteps were rather light, and she had a distinct smell of cinnamon and orange blossoms. 

"Thor! Status!" Steve yelled into the earpiece.

"The girl tried to warp my mind. Take special care, I doubt a human could keep her at bay. Fortunately, I am mighty," Thor trailed off.

You knew immediately what was happening. 

"Nat," you called worriedly.

"I'm fine," she reassures you. 

"David?" You called next.

"Still good," he grumbles. "Fast little bastard."

"Wait," David calls. "She's got Natasha and Steve in a hallucination."

You're about to turn around immediately to go back to Natasha, but David stops you.

"Don't," he warns. "Nat's still okay, just caught up in whatever she's seeing. If you want to put an end to it, catch the girl."

You grit your teeth but huff in agreement. 

You stand along the empty hallway, breaking the wrist of a man who tries to charge at you. Flinging him over the railing, he lands on sacks of dirt and groans. 

It seems you don't have to go to Wanda because you hear those light footsteps behind you, creeping up.

She stands behind you, unknowing you can hear her heart beating as she raises her hand, tendrils forming at her fingers.

You turn around abruptly, grabbing her wrist. Faced with Wanda's shock widened eyes, you quirk your lip at her. 

"Cute," you tell her, "but it won't work on me."

"And why is that?" Wanda asks accent heavy in her voice that sounds so familiar to you.

"To control-- _compel_ , me to what you want, your will has to be stronger than mine," you tell her, pulling her closer by her wrist to show that even as close as she was, she couldn't use her mind control on you. "So? Do you still think you can play your little mind games on me?"

Maybe you had tugged too hard, but now Wanda was too close. Her eyes staring into yours as if she was searching for something. Lips slightly parted, you could feel her breath on you. 

"Why?" Wanda murmurs as she tilts her head slightly at you.

"Why what?" You return.

"Why do you stare at me like that?" Wanda gets closer.

You should pull away. Disarm her, and go secure Pietro to finish the mission. 

But it feels like there's an electric pulse in the air that seems to keep you rooted.

"Stare at you like what?" You husk.

Wanda licks her lips, drawings your eyes. "Stare at me like you want to save me."

"You're helping a homicidal robotic manic who wants to destroy the world," you quirk your brow at her. "I think that warrants needing to be saved or at least some sense beaten into you."

"He will save the world by putting an end of the Avengers," Wanda hisses. She draws forth the red wisps again in her other hand, holding it close to you. "Perhaps I can't _'play my little mind games'_ with you. But power is power."

Immediately, you feel Wanda's power surround your body before she uses it to force you through the window. You find yourself staring at the sky, blinking as you fall. 

You swiftly turn around, positioning yourself upright as you land on the ground, creating a good-sized crater. There's a momentary crack in your ankles from the pressure and height you fell from, but as quick as it happens, it heals. 

You look up, shards of glass falling around you, and you sigh.

It seems your suspicions were correct, that Wanda's powers were genuine. The feel of it was too raw and similar to Tatyana's.

And that made things complicated. 

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

" _Hey, hey_ , look at me," you coo as you hold Natasha's face in your hands, turning her to look at you. Her eyes are unfocused, and honestly, it's a little challenging to get her to actually look at you. 

You had arrived shortly back into the facility after hearing Clint saying they needed to move. Clint had been trying to shake Natasha out of it, but it wasn't working, and so you stepped in.

"I have no place in the world," Natasha mutters. 

You had a pretty good guess about what she was seeing, and so did Clint.

"How do we get her out? Do we just have to wait?" Clint asked you.

"No," you say, stroking Natasha's cheek, tilting her face up as you look down into her eyes. "We overpower it."

Your pupils explode into liquid pools, swirling as you forced Natasha's to do the same. It would take a little longer, with Natasha not even being lucid. 

"Look at me," you tell her softly. Natasha blinks. "Wherever you are, it's not real."

You start to see flickers of speckles in Natasha's eyes and lick your lips.

"Come back to me," you compel her softly but with a slight bite in your tone. "You have a place in the world. Here, as an Avengers, with Clint and everyone else." The fog is clearing from Natasha's mind, your eyes responding more to yours and your words. 

"With me," you faintly say.

_"Come back."_

Life comes back to Natasha, her eyes no longer dull as she comes face to face with you. She's got a massive headache and slight nausea.

Natasha swallows as you still hold her face in your hands. She wants to say something, but Tony interrupts. 

_"Guys, I could really use some help. Maybe try the lullaby again?"_

You look at Natasha, but she's in no shape to try to go against the Hulk.

"The rest of the team is down," Clint responds.

You look around to see David trying to get Steve out of his hallucination. 

"David will handle things here. Get everyone back onto the jet. The twins and Ultron are probably long gone by now. I'm going to help Tony."

You look once more at Natasha, who lifts the corner of her mouth.

"Be careful," she tells you.

"Aren't I always?" Giving her a wink, you take off in a blur.

"Coordinates, Stark," you say into your earpiece. 

_"Getting my ass beat right now!"_ Tony groans.

"Coordinates, Stark, not status. I already know you're getting your ass beat," you smirk.

_"Don't be a dick,"_ he mutters, but you're unsure if that was to you or Banner. He tells you where to meet him, but it gets easier to figure out as you get closer, and you can hear glass and building being shattered, and Banner's roars along with civilian screams.

You pick up speed, reaching there as you stand a few feet away, and Tony spots you.

"What's the plan?" Tony asks.

"Get him away from the city. Damage's been done, but we should try to stop him from doing any more," you see Tony struggling to hold him down. His suit is bulked up, and you're sure he prepared this specifically for Banner.

"Where do we bring him?" Tony's punching Banner in the face, trying to get him to 'go to sleep.'

"Few miles from the Quinjet. There should be some open space."

"Alright," Tony says, having no other choice but to trust you.

He gets VERONICA to send in a new Hulkbuster arm, using it to suction in the Hulk's arm as they take to the skies. You start to run in the same direction they're going.

"Alright, what do we do after we get him in the area?" Tony's overworking the jets in his feet while the Hulk struggles to get the upper hand in the air.

"Can you trap him in his spot?"

"I have one extra set electric bars, but he dug a hole in the ground to escape it."

"Just set them in the ground, wide berth and electrodes on."

You enter into a clearing, and Tony drops Banner, breaking the ground as he lands. 

Immediately, giant plates dig into the earth, surrounding Banner as he gets electrified. He screams, arching his back before he turns and snarls at you.

"You gonna try this compulsion thing?" Tony asks through his mask.

"Try being a keyword," you mutter, "I have a feeling he's not going to be receptive towards it."

"Is anyone receptive towards compulsion, really?" Tony grumbles.

"Yeah," you smirk, "humans."

You walk around the perimeter of the plates, and the Hulk turns his body as his eyes follow you.

"You're angry," you acknowledge. "She made you angry."

The Hulk only roars and glares at you, the surrounding area of his eyes were red. 

You lock eyes, pupils expanding as you try to reel him in. 

"But look around you, think if there's anything right now to be angry about," you say to him. His head moves side to side, but you can tell the Hulk is fighting it. "Are you _really_ angry, or did she just tell you you're angry? Who are you outraged at? The civilians who've done nothing to you? Tony? Me?"

You kept circling, keeping your eyes locked on his. 

"Yourself?" You asked, and when the Hulk lets out an enraged yowl, you know you've hit the spot.

"You need to calm down," you lick your lips. "Before you do something that will really make you angry with yourself."

The Hulk is huffing and puffing as he continues to stare at you, and you try to expand the compulsion stronger. 

For a second, you think it's working. The Hulk is shaking his head, stumbling backward.

But as quick as that happens, suddenly he punches himself in the face, knocking himself out of your control before he lets out another bellowing scream. 

He starts running even as the plates send out electric shocks, bombarding through one of them as it breaks. 

"He's too ravaged for me to even try to influence him to calm down," you tell Tony quickly as you take off towards the Hulk.

"I think I got that," Tony has to move out of the way before the Hulk steamrolls him. 

"New plan," you say, running towards Tony.

"What are you--" he starts to say, but you cut him off.

"Throw me onto his back!" You leap, forcing Tony to catch you as he spins around once before whipping you in the direction the Hulk took off in. 

The speed propelled you straight towards him, he didn't even see it coming as he was approaching the Quinjet. Everyone had come outside, hearing his thundering footsteps as he ran in their direction.

You latched onto his back, wrapping your tiny arms the best you could around his neck with crushing force, almost enough to snap his windpipe. 

He chokes, feet digging into the ground as he abruptly stopped. His hand comes up to your arm, and you only have a second before he forces you to release him via breaking your arm. 

You open your mouth, teeth sharp as venom pooled to them before you dug it into his neck. 

He was grumbling at you before, but he was definitely screaming at you now. 

The sound of agonizing wails leaves his mouth as he falls to his knees. You let go of his neck. 

Falling forward, the Hulk writhes in pain, and you could see the venom traveling in his veins as they turned a dark green on his skin. He was crawling as he groaned.

Soon, the venom overtook his system to the point Banner began to change back to a man. He lay there, moaning in pain as Tony came forward along with Clint, who threw a blanket over him.

"What did you do?" Tony asked, and David came out, blurring over to carry Bruce into the Quinjet.

"Forced him to change back," you mutter as you also got onto the Quinjet. 

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

David put Banner on a makeshift bed while Clint flew the Quinjet out of the area. 

Bruce was thrusting off the table as he still writhed in pain while everyone else stood around.

"What's happening to him?" Steve asked. He was covered in dirt and grime, and he looked a little defeated.

"The venom is breaking his cells down," you say, eyes drifting to David, who nods, restraining Bruce down.

You could hear more questions being fired, but you didn't answer. You threw the blanket off of Bruce, and everyone could see his veins, dark and poisoned-looking.

Leaning over, you began to bite him various places until the discoloration in his veins began to disappear. The seizing slowed down in Bruce as he came to a restful stop, but beads of sweat ran down his forehead. He was still breathing heavily, and his eyes remained closed.

"He's going to have to sleep that off," you spitting out blood into a nearby bucket, and wiping your mouth. David hands you a bottle of water, which you use to rinse your mouth, spitting it out until your mouth was clear.

Natasha comes up to check on you, putting her hand on your back softly as you try to give her a smile that ends up being more of a grimace.

"What was that?" Tony asked as he inspected his friend.

"I told you," you say as Natasha gives you some gum. "Venom can be used in three ways. That was one of them."

"But what does it _do_ ," Tony emphasized.

The mint flavor spread throughout your mouth, and you were thankful for a change in taste. Lately, it's been getting harder to control your thirst.

"When venom is used to harm, it attacks the cells in your body. Specifically, it makes them explode. It's painful as it travels through your veins because it's basically shredding everything in its path as it moves. The more venom you inject, the faster the deterioration goes," you say. 

"Why did you bite him again?" Steve asks. 

"There's only one way to reverse it," you peer over to Bruce's sleeping form. "Only the venom of the vampire who inflicted it can undo it. I injected the healing venom to counteract it. He'll be fine, maybe just a couple scars, and feeling sore for a few days."

"We need to lay low while we can," David interrupts as he looks at his tablet.

_"That's a great idea,"_ you hear Maria chime in through the intercoms. _"The new is loving you guys. No one else is. There's no official arrest warrant for Banner, but it's up in the air."_

"Stark Relief Foundation?" Tony asks.

_"Already on scene. How's everyone?"_ She replies.

"We took a hit, they're shaking it off right now," you mutter.

_"Well, stay in stealth mode for now, and don't come back here,"_ Maria warned, knowing it would be ugly.

"So, run and hide?" Tony seems displeased.

_"Until we find Ultron, there are not many options on the table,"_ Maria sighed, disconnecting after that. 

Tony goes over to Clint, slapping his hand on Clint's shoulder. "Need to switch out?"

Clint shakes his head, "Nah, I'm good. If you wanna get some kip, now would be the time, we're still a couple hours out."

You look over to Clint, noticing the dark bags under his eyes, and for the first time, you see how tired he must be.

"A couple hours from where?" Tony asks.

"A safe house," Clint answers, looking at you and David, and you know immediately where he's taking you.

You turn to Natasha, and it seems she knows as well.

Taking the time to sit near the back, you hold your girlfriend in your arms, stroking the side of her arms. Natasha's worn, you can tell by the paleness in her skin, and she's upset. 

You sit in silence for a good chunk of the time. As much as you hate it, the image of Wanda doesn't leave your mind. There was something that brewed deep within you, and you felt haunted. 

It isn't until Natasha decides to speak and breaks your thoughts.

"I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't gotten me out of that hallucination," Natasha says quietly to avoid drawing the attention of the others, but now used with David unintentionally being able to listen.

"I wish I could've been there sooner," you say at the same level of quietness, but Natasha shakes her head. 

"Sometimes," she starts, licking her dry lips, "it's so easy to live every day like that part of my life didn't happen. Even though it's my sole reason to do the things I do. I want to clear my ledger, but it's..."

"It's complicated," you finish for her when she drags.

It's silent for a few minutes as the two of you rest, you lean your head on top of Natasha's, breathing slowly as you try to comfort her.

"I had never thought about wanting kids," Natasha starts quietly again, and you hum softly in the back of your throat to tell her you're listening. 

"I'm not even really sure that I do or not, but then I get reminded that I can't either way."

You hold her bicep tighter, turning your head to press a kiss to her head.

"It's okay to mourn the loss of the choice," you murmur. 

Natasha nudges herself closer to you, inhaling your scent as it eases her. The images don't quite go away. They linger in her mind, a wretched memory of everything she's endured. 

"I suppose it's easier," Natasha mumbles. "It's one less thing to worry about, one less thing that would matter more than a mission. It makes everything easier, even killing."

"Don't do that," you admonish her gently. "While those things can be true, don't make yourself out to be a monster."

Natasha remains quiet, not the kind where she doesn't believe you, but the kind where she doesn't quite have the right words to say for once.

"You act like you don't already have things that would matter more than a mission, things that you don't worry about," you lift your other hand up, using your fingers to tilt her chin until she's facing you. 

Your lips are so close, the warmth vibrating between the two of you. 

"Because you already do, don't you?" You murmur. "Everyone on this ship is your family-- _I'm_ your family, just as you are mine."


	10. PART X

There's something about the way the golden sky hits the horizon of this quiet countryside field.

It's quiet.

At least in comparison to the city.

You like the tall grass that surrounds the stand-alone home. The air is cleaner, crisper. There's a serene peace that settles in the area, and it makes you nostalgic for things you haven't had.

You can hear children running around inside, and the sink running in the kitchen along with food sizzling. Looking over at Natasha, there's a softness that has fallen over her face, a look you're somewhat familiar with, but in a different context.

This might be home for her, too, you realize.

"A safe house?" Tony tilts his head as everyone stares at the farmhouse.

"Let's hope," Clint mutters as everyone enters into the house. "Honey, I'm home!"

You tilt your head, curious when the woman you assume to be Clint's wife walks into the kitchen. You knew she was carrying based on the conversation you overhead, but you were still surprised to find her heavily pregnant.

She was due soon.

"Hi, company," Clint says in a rush as he gives her a kiss on the cheek. "Sorry, I didn't call ahead."

"Hey," the woman replies as she kisses Clint. You hear Tony make a comment to Thor about the strangeness of this, but you were focused on her stomach.

You tilted your head as you could hear its heartbeat.

"Gentlemen and gentle...women," Clint stares at you and Natasha. "This is Laura. My wife."

"I know all your names," Laura smiles while everyone looks at her rather awkwardly because no one but Natasha, you and, David knew about her.

David seemed the most curious, but he has always loved kids and got along with them easily.

"You're due soon," he tells Laura with a smile as he sneaks around you to stand closer to inspect Laura respectfully.

"You can tell?" Laura looks down at her stomach as David nods.

"Yes," he says. "A couple months at the most."

"How can you tell?" Laura asks as you hear tiny rumbling footsteps running towards this room.

"We can smell it," David informs her.

"Incoming," Clint says, kneeling down as his son and daughter excitedly burst into the room.

"Dad!" His daughter jumps in Clint's arm. Clint picks her up as he stands and kisses his son's head.

"Tinier agents," Tony blinks at the scene while Steve looks completely flabbergasted.

"This is Lila and Cooper," Clint smiles softly.

"Did you bring Auntie Nat?" The little girl says, and Natasha turns as she smiles.

"Why don't you hug her and find out?" Natasha starts to walk while Lila runs into her arms.

Natasha picks her up with ease, holding her close as she kisses Lila on the cheek. She comes back to you and tense ever so slightly before you relax.

Of course, you spent a lot of time with Allison as you took care of her, but sometimes, being around young kids would cause just a quick flashback of the ones you couldn't save.

Natasha smiles at you, and you return it lightly.

"This is Lila," Natasha introduces you to her and then telling Lila your name.

"Is she your friend?" Lila asks as she stares at you, and Natasha laughs.

"Yes, she's...my special friend," Natasha looks at you with a smirk to which you roll your eyes gently in response.

"I like your braids," you tell Lila softly, who smiles shyly at you in thanks.

"Sorry to drop by in like this," Steve says to Laura.

"Yeah, we would've, but we were too busy not knowing you existed," Tony chirped in.

Clint smiles as he stands next to his wife and has his hand on Cooper's shoulder.

"Yeah, Fury helped me set this up and kept it off SHIELD's files. I'd like to keep it that way, I figured this is a good place to lay low."

Laura laughed suddenly, and everyone turned to see David giving family photos to her.

"Okay, as low as we can," Clint corrects.

Natasha sets down Lila as she drags you closer to Laura.

"Ah, honey, I missed you," Laura pulls Natasha into a hug before giving you a kind smile.

Your nose twitches as you get closer, and you can smell Laura's pregnancy in more detail.

"And how's little Natasha?" Natasha coos as she bends down to touch Laura's stomach gently.

"You mean Nathaniel?" David snickers and you elbow him in the rib.

"What?" Natasha says as she stands up, looking at David before she turns back to Laura.

"Sorry," Laura gives her an apologetic look that confirms what David said.

Natasha leans back down to Laura's stomach, "Traitor."

"Thor," Steve calls out.

You turn your attention as Thor leaves the house with Steve following him.

You hear Thor say how he saw something in his dream and how he won't find his answers here before flying off.

Everyone seems to have reached their limit and wants to get some rest. You, Natasha, and David decided to stay in one room since the two of you don't sleep. David said he'd be out working on a lot of other things anyways.

"Mind if I shower first?" He asks you and Natasha.

"Go for it," Natasha nods.

"If you use all the hot water, I'll kill you," you tell him, and David just pretends to look offended that you would even insinuate he would before walking off.

You could hear Clint and Laura talking in the next room where he's updating her on the mission and what he'll do once this mission is done. You try to drown it out as you turn and focus on Natasha before you.

"How are you feeling?" You ask softly as you lift your hand to her face.

Natasha presses more firmly into your hold. A part of her wishes she could feel the warmth of your actual hand, but she doesn't want to push you, and you were clearly nowhere ready to touch her with your bare hands.

It didn't stop her from fantasizing about it, though.

"Better," Natasha rasps, "I've stopped hearing the lingering voices."

You nodded, using your thumb to stroke her cheek.

"How was it?" Natasha asks, breaking the silence, and you know what she's referring to.

Slowing dropping your hand, you went to sit at the seat beside the window.

"It was..." you sighed, "I don't know. Hard."

Natasha takes a seat next to you, combing her fingers through your hair, and your eyes fluttered at the serene feeling.

"Talk to me," Natasha softly says. She knows you've probably been refraining from trying to talk about it with her after that night. You must think she may not like it.

But Natasha doesn't care about such things like that. Tatyana was a big part of your life, and even though you haven't said anything about it yet, Natasha knows Wanda will be too.

In what capacity will depend on what you'll allow, what you think Natasha will allow.

"I suppose...I didn't expect her to look so much like Tatyana," you smile weakly. "Looking at her is like nearly looking at a spitting image. Pietro has similar features, being twins, but it's easier to ignore that he's a descendant."

Natasha nods, understanding as she continues to comb through your hair.

"I'm still working on confirming something," you tell her honestly.

"And if what you suspect is true?" Natasha asks.

You purse your lips.

"Then, we have a new set of problems."

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

The day continues on, and everyone, for the most part, has freshened up. You leave Natasha to her own devices with showering even though earlier she had given you a look that suggested that they could save water if they showered together.

You had felt a hot liquid pool form in your lower stomach as you licked your lips.

But now was neither nor the time to engage in such activities, though you did give her a languid kiss before excusing yourself.

You could hear Tony and Steve talking--passive-aggressively arguing outside. You were about to go out to break it up when your eyes honed in on something.

"Just great," you huffed under your breath as you headed out to the field where there was a tractor.

"Thank you, Laura," a deep voice spoke as he caught your eye as you came up to them.

Laura greeted you, and you nodded in response as she slipped out to do her task.

"Maria tell you to come out here?" You asked, looking at Nick Fury.

"She thought it would be best for me to assess the situation," he shrugs. "I wanted a little word with Stark, anyways."

You shake your head. "Your words will mean nothing to him, you know."

"Then perhaps I should talk with you," Fury redirects. "I hear you're quite involved with this case."

You remain silent, not taking his bait.

"What do you suggest I do?" Fury says, curious about what you'll say.

Before you could answer, you hear Tony approaching, catching the two of you after looking at the tractor.

"Ah, Mrs. Barton, that little minx. What are the two of you doing here? Did Maria call you?" Tony asks as he turns to look at Fury.

"Artificial intelligence, you didn't even hesitate," Fury cocked his brow at Tony.

You tune out the two of them talking as you focus your attention elsewhere. You could hear Steve a little ways away, still ripping woods apart with his bare hands. Inside the house, you could hear the water being turned off, indicating that Natasha was done with her shower, and you decided you would go in soon to shower yourself before helping where you could.

"--you didn't," you catch the end of what Fury said before the man walked off, leaving you alone with the genius billionaire.

He was frustrated--annoyed, you could tell by just looking at his face. The light grimace and pinch between his eyebrow were a clear indication.

Tony catches you staring at him, looking miffed as he peers at you.

"Well, I suppose you have something to say, too, huh?" Tony mutters.

You take a long minute to stare at him, his conversation with Fury not lost on you.

"Not really," you say in the end. "Nothing I haven't already told you, anyways."

"Right, like my ego being too big, and I'm not the be-all, end-all."

You shrug. "No one is the be-all, end-all. If the world had to only rely on one man, we would've gone extinct before cavemen even had the chance to evolve."

"And I'm the man that's going to cause that," Tony persisted.

"No," you shook your head. "You know as well as I do that it was only your fear being shown to you."

"Do I?" Tony scoffed. "All I know is that I saw all my friends dead, and I caused it because I couldn't save them. Who are you to say it's not the future I saw?"

"Because she _can't_ show you the future!" You burst at him, grimacing at your own outburst. You sigh, closing your eyes and pinching the bridge of your nose. "That's not what her power is. In the best-case scenario, she can use telepathy to read your mind to experience your memories and thoughts, and then using that to project hallucinations onto you. In the worst-case scenario, she can use her powers to alter reality to make what she wants to come true. I don't think she's there yet."

"And how do you know all that?" Tony asks, narrowing his eyes at you.

"You know that I came on this mission for my own personal reasons."

"And what? That Maximoff girl is your personal reason?"

"They both are," you tell him. "Her powers aren't entirely unfamiliar to me. Different, yes, I imagine from the scepter, but not unfamiliar."

"I don't see the difference between her powers and my future." Tony blinks at you.

You grumbled, sighing as you try to explain. "It means, _dumbass_ , that Wanda either doesn't realize that she can alter reality or that she doesn't have enough control of her powers to do so yet. I'm betting it's a mix of the two. I felt it when I fought with her. She's chaotic, and her powers are unrefined. Because of that, she can only snoop into your mind and then send you your worst fear in the form of a hallucination. You weren't shown the future, Tony, you were emotionally exploited."

You wanted Tony to understand, not so sure why you were so concerned with it. Tony, like everyone else, was a complex person with a multitude of different faces and layers. On the surface, he was a nonchalant, cocky dickhead (though, you were also sure some of that was truly him on the inside too), but he was also someone who cared.

A lot.

And people who tend to care a lot always overdid everything to protect everything and everyone they care about.

Tony was already hurting.

And Wanda was making it worse.

It was a painful reminder that Tatyana had hurt people too, and you couldn't stop her.

"How do you know that isn't the future for sure? How can you confirm that's not my legacy?" Tony murmurs quietly, looking at the sky as if the low volume would allow him to admit his fear without you hearing.

You stare at him for a long minute, biting your tongue before you draw a long sigh that gets Tony's attention.

Tony watches you, taking off one glove, pressing your lips together as you do so.

You hold out your hand to him.

"If you tell Natasha I touched you before her, I'll break your dick."

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

Dinner is a pleasant affair. You had gone back into the kitchen swiftly after finishing your talk with Tony. Laura was starting to make dinner, and you let her know not to worry about you and David as the two of you don't eat.

You had taken a step out with David while everyone was bustling around before dinner. It had been a while since you last fed, and you had a feeling things were going to start happening back to back, and you needed to be prepared for it.

The two of you headed into town to the nearest hospital, compelling a nurse to bring you both a blood bag to feed on and forget.

It wasn't a lot, but it would be enough to get through the mission without damage, hopefully. You didn't want to end up taking too much from the hospital and causing a problem, even though the two of you were too far from your own stash.

It would've been better to go to a blood bank, but this town was so small they didn't have one.

You were sitting closely next to Natasha as she ate her dinner, your arm around her, and you fought the urge to hide your face into her neck.

"You should head to NEXUS in Oslo to pick up JARVIS," David tells Tony.

"Is that where he is?" Tony hums. "Smart guy to head to the fastest internet hub on the earth. I'm such a proud dad," Tony pretends to tear up.

"Great, you got one good kid and one fuck up, classic!" You say over Natasha's head while Tony scrunches his nose at you.

"Why did I come?" Fury muttered rather loudly. Seems like all the information he was bringing was already brought up by David.

"For a good time, boss. But you wouldn't happen to have anything else, would you?" Natasha pulled a piece of her bread apart.

"I have you," Fury shrugged. "We ain't got nothing but our wit and our will to save the world. So stand up and take out that platinum bastard."

"Steve doesn't like that kind of talk," Natasha teases.

"You know what, Romanoff?" Steve jokingly threatens while she smiles mischievously at him.

You had been only half-focusing on the conversation at hand, jumping in here and there to throw in remarks. You were thrumming your fingers at your side quietly.

There was something about that first night you had all encountered Ultron.

"So, what does he want?" Fury asked.

"To become better. Better than us. He keeps building bodies," Steve licked his bottom lip.

"Person bodies. We're outmoded, biologically speaking, but he keeps coming back to it," Tony leaned back in his chair.

"He wants the human race to evolve; therefore, he needs to evolve himself," Banner mused.

"I don't think evolving the human race is his goal," David muttered.

"How's he going to do that?" Fury asked.

And then it occurred to you.

"Has anyone talked to Dr. Cho?" You pursed your lips.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

There was a lot of noise as everyone was getting ready to leave the Barton household.

Thor was still out on his own, so no one held high hopes he would be coming back for this one.

"Alright, I'll head to you guys as soon as I collect JARVIS from NEXUS," Tony, lets everyone know.

"I'll take David and Banner to the Stark Tower," Fury said. " "Mind if I borrow Miss Hill?"

"All yours," Tony nodded. "What are you gonna do?"

"I don't know, something dramatic, I hope," Fury shrugs.

"Alright, everyone else goes with me," Steve attached his shield onto his back.

You nod as you stood next to Natasha.

"You know, I miss the days when I was the weirdest thing science created," Steve mused.

"What do you mean?" You looked at him with a smirk. "You still are."

"I swear to God--"

"Swearing is not good, Steve," Natasha joined in on the teasing.

"I hate you both," Steve shook his head with a good spirit.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

There was something that rubbed you the wrong way when you entered the laboratory.

Sparks from exposed wires filled the air, and you could smell blood and hear the shallow breathing of a woman.

You recognized the scent.

"Dr. Cho is in there," you say quietly for Steve to hear, and the two of you race in to see that she was sitting on the floor, resting against a cabinet as she was clutching her stomach tightly. She had blood dripping from her head and lips, but she was still alive.

"Dr. Cho!" Steve called out as he race to her, bending down to see if she was okay.

"He's uploading himself into the body," Dr. Cho heavily breathes. "You can't just destroy the cradle. You need to get it to Stark."

"I got to find it first," Steve tells her.

"Go," she nods in the direction of outside. He purses her lip at her, but she nods to let Steve know she'll be okay.

He starts to head out but then looks at you.

"I'll catch up," you say offhandedly as you bend down to assess the doctor.

She was bleeding profusely through her stomach, where Ultron shot her. Dr. Cho had done her best to stop the bleeding, but it started to soak through the cloth. You looked around to find her technicians dead, and you frowned.

"Maybe I will get your venom after all," Dr. Cho says with a smirk, bringing your attention back to her.

You cocked your brow at her with a smile. "It's quite the risqué position. I don't know if my girlfriend would like that."

"I'm sure she won't mind you helping a frail, dying girl," Dr. Cho jokes but winces in pain shortly after.

You snort at the word frail but lick your lips nonetheless. "Listen, Doc, I don't wanna catch you doing experiments on yourself after getting my venom, alright?"

She nods, and you lift her hand away along with the cloth. You lower herself down her body, feeling the venom pool in your mouth.

You hear her breath hitch, and you're not sure if it's because she's in pain. You remind yourself you need to be careful. While you could drink the blood that was pouring out from Dr. Cho, you opted not to.

Dr. Cho realized this as you were carefully licking her wound, feeling something amazing happening on her skin under your mouth as she was being healed.

"What a loyal girlfriend you are," Dr. Cho mutters.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

"I'm always picking up after you boys," Natasha grunts as she Steve's shield and gives it to you to hold.

You were on your way to Steve when Natasha dropped from the sky on a motorbike, and you found yourself hopping on the back of it as she passed you.

"Seriously, Steve, I've seen people treat their trash better than how often you drop this thing," you joke.

"Little busy, guys," Steve grunts back, "wouldn't say no to some help."

As you get closer to the truck where Ultron and Steve are, you whip his shield to him, and Steve uses it to knock Ultron's arm off of him. Ultron falls, catching sight of you two and uses his power to lift a piece of the ground up to stop Natasha in her tracks.

"Go!" Natasha tells you, and you get up on the motorbike before using your strength to propel yourself onto the truck as you leap.

Ultron sees you and immediately uses his ability to manipulate gravity to launch himself towards you.

But if Pietro was too quick for him, you were just a step behind. You blur to the side, back kicking him with a brute amount of force as Ultron passed you.

The strength of the kick alone had done a lot of damage. Your foot had impaled him halfway as he passed, bolts, and gears falling out of the hole you created.

"Look at us," you look at Steve, "we're a dream team."

"I always wanted to tag team with you," Steve smiles.

"Of course you do," you say as if it was obvious, "I'm your favorite."

"Ugh!" Ultron screams as he flies into Steve's direction this time, but Steve uses the momentum to take them both into the train that was moving next to them.

You followed as you spoke into the intercom, "We're taking the party elsewhere. The truck's all yours with the surprise inside, baby."

"I love when you leave gifts for me, so romantic," Natasha cooed.

"Please stop, or I will vomit," Clint says.

You snort as you follow through the hole Ultron and Steve created when they crashed into the train. You land with grace, noticing there are passengers on the cart.

Steve hits Ultron with enough force to send him flying, and you move as fast as you can over to a young teen to force her lower onto the ground from her seat to avoid being crushed.

"I guess I've got civilian-watching duty," you say almost glumly.

"I'd be happy to trade," Steve huffs as he stands up straight.

You could hear Natasha and Clint talking through your earpiece, and for a second, you wished you had stayed with your girlfriend when you hear that the truck is airborne, but you knew she could handle it.

"No, you seem like you got it," you shake your head with a smile. Luckily with a psychotic robot and turbulence on the train, it was too hard for anyone to grab their phone and record.

Ultron barrels into Steve, knocking him into the corner before Steve uses his foot to kick back.

"Of course," Steve puffs.

Even though you had said that you still helped out when you could, with the narrow pathway the train provided, the two of you had to be careful of making sure civilians didn't get hurt.

Ultron was extremely diligent in keeping you at a distance from him, realizing you were nearly as fast as Pietro and much, much stronger.

But then you heard it.

The light footsteps atop the train at first, then then your eyes easily adjusted to a blur that went past you, knocking into Ultron.

It was Pietro.

Your eyes easily found their way to Wanda as you turned around. She was looking at you, unsure what to think when your eyes met.

Ultron turned back to start towards Pietro, but two metal railings were bent to prevent him from doing so. Ultron turned back to see Wanda, and it was clear on his robotic face that he was hurt, but he also knew he couldn't best Wanda.

"Please, don't do this," Ultron's tone soft and pleading.

"What choice do we have?" Wanda's thick accent hung in the air, and you bit your tongue.

Ultron stilled for a millisecond before he turned around, shooting a blast out from his hand. Everyone dodged, and the explosion shot straight through to the train's front where the conductor was. Taking the momentary distraction, Ultron bolted out of the train and flew away.

With the conductor out, the train started to sway unsteadily, everyone losing their footing, and no one could go after Ultron.

Steve hopped up, heading to the front to check if the conductor was okay, but she was out cold. "We've lost him! He's headed your way."

The train flew off its railing, and everyone hung on the best they could as it kept going even on concrete and dirt.

"Nat!" Clint shouted through the intercom. "Cap, do you see Nat?" His voice was panicked and strained.

You looked out the window of the train in the sky. You could see Quinjet, but Natasha was nowhere in sight.

"What the hell do you mean, Clint?!" You shouted.

"I got the cradle, but Ultron grabbed her the last second we got it. Do you have eyes on her?!" Clint asked, his head moving jerkily as he looked around out the windows.

"If you have the package, get it to Stark!" Steve instructed. "Go!"

You heard Clint frustratedly curse an expletive before he flew the Quinjet away in the other direction.

Warning bells were already going off in your head as you were about to take off the train and see if you could locate Natasha, but Steve's voice stopped you.

"I need you to help stop the train, or these people might die," Steve's jaw was tight, and you knew that he didn't want this either. If he could stop the train on his own or trusted the two twins enough, he would want you out there looking for Natasha too.

You looked around, seeing the humans' petrified faces, all sorts of people on this train, no doubt children too.

You clenched your jaw, swallowing painfully, but you resolved to trust that Natasha was okay and could take care of herself. She had been long before you, you reminded yourself.

"Alright," you breathe out in a huff.

"Civilians are in the path," Steve told Pietro, who rushed off.

"I need you to help me stop this train," you turn to Wanda.

She stares at you but nods once firmly.

You make your way to the front of the train, hopping over the conductor and a few feet away from the train, turning as it approaches you.

Steeling yourself by digging your feet into the ground as you get into a stance with your hands out, the train collides into you. Instead of crushing you like it would an average human, your body hardens to take the shock, and the train pushes you back, gravel and dirt flying everywhere.

It slows down slightly, but it won't come to a complete stop before the train would barrel right into a building. You can see Pietro working around you, and Wanda uses her power to stop the wheels from turning.

The train comes to a full stop smoothly with all three of you, and no one was harmed. People began to exit the train, and Steve came out to check on you while Wanda checked on Pietro.

"I'm fine, just need a second," you breathe, hearing Pietro say something similar to Wanda.

"Did you get the cradle?" Wanda asks, her eyes floating to you. Your eyes caught hers for a moment, but you turned quickly to your intercoms.

You had tried to contact Natasha, but it was obviously a bust as she didn't answer back. Your next contact was with David to tell him to start searching.

"Stark will handle it," Steve tells Wanda.

"No, he won't," Wanda looked distraught.

"You don't know what you're talking about, you don't know him," Steve defended Tony while Wanda looked more upset as the seconds passed.

"He will do anything to make it right," Wanda says, knowing what she saw in his head. "Ultron can't tell the difference between saving the world and killing it...where do you think he gets that from?"

Steve pursed his lips because as much as he didn't want to admit it, the girl had a point, and Steve was still miffed about how Tony had kept all this artificial intelligence stuff a secret.

"Stark, anyone, come in?" Steve said into his comms, but it was silent.

You turn around, jaw clenched as you were upset about Natasha taken.

"It'll be fine," you tell the three of them, the confidence in your voice that made everyone quiet. "We need to head back."

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

You were pissed.

And everyone could tell.

Natasha was taken, and no one knew where Ultron may have taken her. You understood at the time that Steve needed you there to help him, but it didn't help that Natasha was gone.

You were mostly pissed at yourself.

"Well, she's not dead," Tony says as if in an attempt to make you feel better. "If she were, Ultron would be rubbing it in our faces."

You didn't say anything in response, jaw still clenched tightly.

Wanda watched from the other side of the room, looking at you peculiarly with her head slightly tilted and arms crossed together just under her chest. She had gathered that you and Natasha were together, and from the information she got from reading other people's minds, it seemed that it was still relatively a new development.

There was something in Wanda's chest that flared annoyingly at the sight of you so...so _worried_ over the redhead. She didn't quite understand it herself or what was the underlying cause of it. But you looked different with that expression on your face.

"You think Natasha might've left something for you outside the internet? Any old-school spy stuff?" Tony asked as he turned to Clint.

"I can cast some nets to see if I catch anything," Clint pressed his lips together, also eager to find his friend.

Your eyes were glowing red angrily as you tried to control your emotions. David came up to you, putting his hand on your shoulder to try to ground you.

"I'll find her," David promises you.

You were gripping a countertop as you were slightly hunched over it.

You needed air.

Suddenly, the edge of the countertop snapped under your grip, crumbling into smaller pieces, and you let it go as you stood straight.

"Find her within the hour," you tell David, walking briskly out of the room.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

When you came back, everything was in chaos.

Everyone was arguing about the body in the cradle and what to do with it. You could see from the corner of your eye that Bruce was angry with Wanda and picking a fight with her.

It was escalating so fast. All of a sudden, Pietro took off as he started destroying lab equipment.

"No, go on," Pietro stood next to Bruce, but the next second afterward, the glass floor shattered underneath him, and he fell through where Clint was.

"Pietro!" Wanda went to help her brother, but then Bruce grabbed her from behind.

Tony and Steve were fighting each other, and you blinked before clenching your jaw.

You blurred over, and just before Steve and Tony were about to collide again, you intercepted, grabbing both their wrists and twisting.

"Ah!" They both yelled as they staggered, almost kneeling on the ground.

The room stilled as everyone look at you.

"We _do not_ fight each other," you snarled at them, looking at Steve and Tony pointedly. "Keep this up, and I'll snap both your wrists."

You grip just slightly tighter in warning before letting them both go, and they stumble a little as they stand up straighter.

"Jesus Christ, I could feel the armor just about to give," Tony says, holding his hand up to inspect his suit while Steve rubs his wrist gingerly.

You then blur over to where Bruce and Wanda to separate them, shoving Bruce a little harder when he refused to let go of Wanda.

Wanda stumbles into your arms when Bruce is forced to let her go. You steady her with your hand on her back. Your scent fills Wanda's nose, and she's almost reeling at how it invades her.

"I get that you're beyond pissed, and what she did was not okay," you tell Bruce, eyes flickering to meet Wanda's for a second before looking back at him. "But clearly the situation has changed, and for now, she's with us. Steve brought them here. This isn't the time. Focus on the mission at hand, figure it out with her after."

"You want me to forgive what she did?" Bruce said incredulously.

"No," you shake your head, "I want you to be an Avenger and put it aside for now because your teammate has been captured, and there's still a maniac robot out there hellbent on making humans extinct."

Your words hit Bruce and seem to sober him from his anger, and he relaxes his clenched jaw as he sighs and nods. You pat him on the shoulder twice before you walk away, leading Wanda with you.

Best to not tempt it again if they're too close together.

Wanda looks at you as you walk with her. The words, _'are you upset with me?'_ want to leave her mouth, but she forces them in. Of course, you'd be upset with her. She had done so many things to the Avengers, including harming your girlfriend with hallucinations.

Wanda looks away and grits her teeth because she shouldn't care if you're upset with her or not.

But then she feels a light pat on her back.

Wanda looks at you. You aren't looking back at her, there's no indication that you had done that as you keep your head straight ahead.

Still.

Wanda had understood the gesture regardless, hearing your voice in her head.

_'It's not okay, but I understand. You will get a chance to make it up to Bruce, and he will forgive you. Give it time.'_

Before Wanda could say anything, Tony and Steve were at it again, but this time using their words.

"Tony," Steve's face daunt and tight in disapproval, "shut it down!" Steve demanded.

"And I'm telling you, this is will work!" Tony shot back as he caught you coming up to them.

"Tell them!" Tony looks at you, drawing Steve's attention to you as well. "Tell them what you--"

You shoot Tony a warning look, getting him to shut up.

Sighing, you looked at Steve. "Trust me when I say that it will be okay."

"You want him to bring another android to life?" Steve said in disbelief. "We haven't even defeated the first one yet!"

Before you could argue some more, Thor flew in, bringing his lightning hammer on the cradle, bringing the body to life.

"Wait!" Bruce yelled, but it was too late.

For a moment, it was silent, but suddenly, the body smashed out of its cradle.

Glass flew everywhere in its surrounding area. You immediately grabbed Wanda, pulling her to shield her from the flying glass as you used your hand to protect her head.

You felt a piece of glass slice through your cheek on the surface, momentarily stinging before it mended itself.

When everyone stood straighter as the glass settled, there was a giant red android standing in his naked glory, and a giant yellow stone plastered into his forehead.

You had known this was coming when you touched Tony's hand. You had seen quite far ahead; everything from this, to the fight with Ultron in Tony's perspective, and even a little after that.

When the government and the United Nations wanted to be involved in the Avengers' affairs.

That would be a tricky one to navigate, and you wanted more time to think about it.

When you had relayed what you had seen back to him on the farm, you reassured him that he doesn't kill anyone in the next while, but you didn't exactly tell him what he will do in the future in detail as it could cause counterproductive results and change the future again.

All you could tell Tony was that he was on the right path, he was going to create something to help win the battle, and a heat seal would come in handy.

But back to the matter at hand, you knew this was coming, and yet, actually seeing the giant red walking toaster rubbed you the wrong way, and you weren't quite sure why.

He was floating and quickly flew towards Thor, who easily deterred the android away.

Thor raised his hands as Steve and Clint were ready to fight. Pietro came back, looking at you with a quirk of his brow when he saw you still holding Wanda.

You let go awkwardly because you were distracted, forgetting that you were still protecting her.

Why Pietro was staring at you like that, you didn't know. It's not like Wanda stepped out of your arms, either.

"I'm sorry," the android came back, sounding very similar to JARVIS. "That was odd...thank you," he looked at Thor.

"Thor, you helped create this?" Steve said as he eyed the being before him.

"I had a vision. A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life and at its center is that," Thor says, pointing to the stone in the android's head.

"What? The gem?" Bruce clarified.

"It's the Mind Stone. It's one of the six Infinity Stones, the greatest power in the universe, unparalleled in its destructive capabilities," Thor explained.

"Then why would you bring it to life..." Steve pursed his lips, even more suspicious of the new being.

"Because Stark is right," Thor says, almost looking pained to admit.

"That's just gonna unnecessarily inflate his ego," you mutter while Tony was accessing what he helped bring to life.

"We can't defeat Ultron," Thor says, but then catches David entering the room. "Okay, well, maybe he can, but he seems like he has a lot to do."

"Help is good," the android tilted his head.

"Why does your 'vision' sound a lot like JARVIS," Steve's brows furrowed.

"We...configured JARVIS' matrix to create something new," Tony explained.

"I think I've had enough of the new," Steve pursed his lips, never taking his eyes off the android.

The android looked over to Steve. "You think I'm a child of Ultron?"

"You're not?" Steve countered back.

The android shook his head. "I'm not Ultron. I'm not Jarvis...I am...I am." Since he had yet to name himself, and due to Thor's vision, everyone decided that's what his name would be.

Wanda looked at Vision suspiciously. Her eyes narrowing at him. "I looked in your head and saw annihilation."

"Look again," he prompted her, staring at her intensely, and you resisted the urge to curl your lip back.

Wanda does what he says, a curious look on her face.

"Yeah, her seal of approval means jack-shit to me," Clint says.

You watched as everyone goes back and forth, with Vision ending with a long, windy, talk about himself and that they need to go. You resist the urge to roll your eyes.

"Sokovia. Natasha's there too," David answered, giving you a look when everyone questions where they were going.

"Then let's go," you lick your lips.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

The ride back to Sokovia feels long, even with Tony flying the Quinjet as fast as possible.

You stand in the back, looking out the window as the clouds pass by. You hear someone come up to you, but you don't move.

The smell of cinnamon and orange blossom floats you're way, so you don't have to know who it was.

The two of you stand in silence, appreciating the view outside.

"Sometimes...sometimes I can see a glimpse into your head," Wanda says quietly, so the others don't hear.

Your eyes peer over to her before slowly looking back out.

"It's not polite to snoop," you say equally as quiet.

"I can't exactly control it..." Wanda mumbles.

"Even so, you should at least pretend you don't know," you moisten your lips.

It's quiet for a moment before Wanda speaks up again.

"I...saw someone. Things I can't explain," Wanda says unsurely, and you know what she's talking about.

Even though you know she can't help it, you can't help but also feel a little miffed.

You knew that Wanda had a right to know, and yet, you didn't say anything.

"You were looking for me..." Wanda realizes.

"And Pietro," you add, giving her a look, almost laughing when she scrunches her nose.

"We're...connected," Wanda slowly says, turning to face you more.

You swallow as you turn to face her as well.

Wanda's staring at you intensely as if drawing in every little detail about your face and committing it to memory. There's a tight feeling in both her stomach and chest, and she doesn't understand.

She doesn't understand you.

You nod softly.

"Will you tell me about it?" Wanda asks.

"After everything has settled," you tell her.

Wanda swallows.

"You want me to stay?"

She says it so softly, you're surprised such a tone can come out of her when lately she's been an angry bull.

With the time you have, you take in her features. Her long dark hair behind her ears, round face, with define cheeks and jawline was familiar. Her long lashes framed her eyes, and her dark eyeliner and the lighting inside the craft dimmed the color of her eyes.

Still.

She looked at you with an intensity that made you dizzy.

"Yeah," you rasp. "How else will you make it up to Banner?"

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

Natasha hears you calling her name as you run-up to her cell. She stands up, meeting you on the other side, her hand touches yours.

"You okay?" You ask her, accessing her thoroughly for any kind of injuries.

"Yeah," she tells you, smiling a little at your protective behavior, and once you're satisfied that she's relatively unharmed, you look back to her face.

"We gotta get going, team's already out there, and we're missing all the action," you say, liking the way Natasha smirks.

"Don't suppose you found a key just lying around on your way in, did you?"

You tilt your head, looking at the built-in lock on the cell door. Placing your hand over it, you yanked with a substantial amount of strength, forcing the metal underneath to give way.

You threw the hunk of metal behind your back and looked at your girlfriend. She smiled at you as she slides the door open, jumping into you to hug you briefly.

"Let's go," she says as she pulls back.

The two of you navigate your way through, but the ground begins to shake as you're almost out of there. The two of you stumble slightly before steadying yourselves.

"What's the situation?" You ask into the comms.

"Ultron's got Vibranium under the city. We're up in the air," Tony advises.

"Shit, we need to get out here," you say, turning to Natasha. "We're not going to make it on foot, so I'm going to carry you on my back."

Natasha nods, and you turn around, lower yourself so she can get on. Once she's secured on with her legs wrapped tightly around your waist, you adjust here once more before you're satisfied.

"Keep your head down and close to me," you tell her, feeling her following your instructions. The speed you'd be going at could accidentally break her neck if you weren't careful.

With that, you race out, quickly reaching the outside. Everything seems to be crumbling at you begin to maneuver onto the rocks, leaping onto another one as they fall. Eventually, you reach the cliffside wall, using your hands along with your feet to climb up.

When you reach safe ground, Natasha gets off.

"Didn't even break a sweat, huh?" She says to you.

"I have great stamina," you joke, but Natasha raises her brow at her, quirking her lip on one side into a seductive smirk.

"I'll be sure to test that out one day."

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

You feel awful.

Sokovia is falling apart, people are screaming and crying, and it's a war zone out here.

You separated from Natasha, warning her to not get kidnapped again because you don't think you could live with that kind of worry. She merely kisses your cheek before she races off to go help Steve and Thor.

You met up with David, who was huddled up with one of Ultron's robots, and a laptop next to him. The robot was powered down by David, who had his hands on its chest intensely.

"What are you doing?" You ask, looking at his laptop screen to see he was uploading something.

David didn't break his concentration or even open his eyes, but he answered you. "I'm trying to reprogram this bot's mainframe. The Vision is deleting Ultron off the net, so if I can do this, then I can turn this bot over to help us, and then spread it over to all Ultron's other bots."

"That would definitely turn the tide on this," you say, crushing a flying robot towards David.

"I...I got it!" David exclaimed, powering up the robot in hand. It stood up, accessing you, and you stood on guard, but it started to attack its own kind as a threat in the next moment.

"I just need to finish uploading the software to be spread," David picked up his laptop. "I'm going to take cover to finish this, and then find The Vision. I'm good here, you should go."

You nod at him before you take off at high speed. On your way, you bumped into Clint and Wanda. They were being overpowered as they tried to help civilians out of the area.

A group of bots begin to close in. It seems David is still in the process of uploading the software, so the attacks haven't ceased. You notice a bot hellbent on self-destruction as it plummets towards the ground.

Clint is already moving towards Wanda, shouting at her to move. You rush towards the two of them, jumping and pushing them through a building window just as an explosion hits. There are shots still being fired even as the three of you take cover.

Clint's already sitting up, alert as he tries to look at the situation outside without getting shot. Wanda crawls towards the wall, gasping and whimpering.

"How could I let this happen?" She's so distraught.

"Hey, hey, are you alright?" Clint asks, but you put your hand on his shoulder.

Clint looks at you. The situation outside still needs to be handled, and he seems like he doesn't have the time to try to give her a pep talk. You nod at him, and he nods back. Getting up, Clint readies his arrows before he kicks open the door.

"This is all our fault," Wanda cries quietly.

You grab her face, getting her to look up at you. "Look at me," you tell her. "It doesn't matter whose fault it is. It's your fault, my fault, it's everyone's fault. Regardless, this is happening."

She looks at you, breathing harshly as she blinks rapidly.

"I know you're hurting, but this your homeland, and it's up in the air. Literally. Hopefully, if David manages, we won't be fighting an entire army of robots, but we still got one bad guy to fight," you swallow before hearing something approach as you push and move Wanda out of the way just as a shot fires through the wall.

Wanda looks even more frightened, and she's hanging on the front of your jacket as you readjust to move away from the wall.

"We can't change what we've done, we can only try to fix it going forward. I don't care about anything you did or who you were before this."

"I _can't_ fix this," she bellows to you.

"Yes, you _can_ ," you backfire immediately at her. "If you scared and want to let everyone else clean up your mess, I'm fine with letting you do that. You'll be safe here, and Pietro can come to get you. But you can't sit here and tell me that you're okay with letting your fear control you. You can do this, I _know_ you can."

Wanda stares at you, eyes shaking as bites her tongue, letting the silence fall.

"Why do you believe in me so much? Care about me so much?" Wanda asks quietly, feeling something stir in her stomach.

You look back at her, noticing that Wanda seems calmer. Maybe because you feel like you're looking at someone so similar to Tatyana in many ways. That Wanda feels like she's the villain who had caused this.

Perhaps thought she had wanted to be a villain at the start.

But it wretches your gut painfully.

"If anyone could become a hero, it'd be you."

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

"David, please tell me you're almost finished," you say into the comms as you, Wanda, and Clint fight the rest of the robots in your area.

The three of you need to work your way to Steve and the rest of the gang when Pietro flew in to take Wanda.

"Keep up, old man!" He teasingly says as he darts off.

"I hate him so much," Clint breathes deeply.

"If you want, I can carry you," you shrug.

"I both want to and hate the idea," Clint scrunches his nose but allows you to carry him.

"I'm really close guys, just hang tight!" David tells everyone.

"The next wave is going to hit any minute," Steve says. "What do you have, Stark?"

"Working on a heat seal," he tells everyone.

"We don't have the time," Thor says, "Ultron is trying to get to the core. We need to make a choice."

"That's not a solution," Steve firmly says.

"There's no math here, Steve. Everyone up here versus everyone down there?"

"I'm not leaving this rock with one civilian on it," Steve doesn't budge.

"I'm not saying we should go," Natasha counters back, nodding her head back and forth as she considers something. "There are worse ways to go. Besides, where else am I going to get a view like this?"

"I have at least fifteen other places that have better views than this."

Natasha looks over to see you had shown up with a disapproving look on your face.

"I think we might have to settle," Natasha gives you a self-deprecating smile that shows all too much that this is the only way.

"I don't settle."

With that, another voice comes on the radio.

"Glad you think the view is nice, hopefully, you think this is much better," Fury comes in with a Helicarrier in view. "Nice, right? I pulled her out of the mothballs with a couple old friends. She's dusty, but she'll do."

"Fury, you son of a bitch!" Steve says with a smile.

"Ooh! You kiss your mother with that mouth?" Fury replies in teasing.

Natasha looks over to you, smiling as you come up to her.

"Did you know?" She asks, and you shrug, not wanting to tell her that you touched Tony.

"If Fury decided to show up at the farm with actually nothing else planned, I think we would have to vote him off the island," you offer instead.

"That's comforting," Fury sarcastically said.

"Anytime," you reply.

Within seconds, lifeboats are deployed, and everyone is helping with the evacuation.

"The odds aren't looking too great here," Thor interrupts. "The core is getting bombarded."

"Rhodey, get everyone on the Helicarrier!" Tony says as he flies towards Thor to help.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

"This is exactly what I wanted. All of you against all of me. How could you possibly hope to stop me?"

"Like the old man said," Tony looks at Steve. "Together."

The bots begin to rush towards everyone, and you swallow.

"Wait, guys!" You hear David through the comms. "I...got it!"

Just like that, the bots stop dead in their tracks and power down before powering back up again.

This time, they turn their attention towards Ultron.

"Are you kidding me?" Ultron grumbles as the bots rush towards him, firing shots away that Ultron easily deflects.

Because The Vision burned him off the net, Ultron has no way of accessing the software David created to try to change the bots back to his side.

The Hulk rushes towards Ultron, punching him square in the chest and sending him flying miles away.

Everyone turns to look at each other as David blurs into the area with his laptop.

"I feel like we missed a very epic battle scene," Tony says, "like a defining moment in a movie."

 _"Oh, I'm sorry,"_ David says sarcastically, "if you want, I can totally fix that for you."

"Nope, we're good," Steve says quickly. "We still need to get the stragglers, but if Ultron comes back to the core, we're doomed."

"I'll protect it," Wanda interjects, looking at you as she does. "There's no one better than me."

You nod as Clint looks at Nat.

"Nat, let's go," he nods outside. She looks at you, and you nod at her as it would be faster for you to find civilians on your own.

You look at David. "Alright, nerd, you're going with me. I think you had enough alone time for today."

"You are so ungrateful, oh my god."

"I love you," you smile.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

Tony is using the extra bots to help push the rock further into the sky. If they can get it into space, using the heat seal would cause the least amount of damage to Sokovia.

"I can't believe I'm going into space again," Tony mumbled, glad he had made the adjustments to his suit so it would be suitable to go into space better this time.

He had been prepared since the alien invasion.

"Maybe you chose the wrong career path and should've become an astronaut instead," you joke, getting a low chuckle in return.

You had run the perimeter with David, seeing that there were no civilians left.

Natasha volunteered to try to convince The Hulk to either change back or get his ass on the Helicarrier. You would've volunteered, but you don't think The Hulk would be happy to see you, and you can't keep biting the man to force him to change back either.

"I think I can hear a woman screaming," David mumbled. "I'll go check."

He takes off, and you are about to head back when you hear shots fired in the distance. You turn and speed over.

You felt your stomach dropping when you approach the scene. Everything seems to happen in slow motion.

Ultron in his jet, shooting down at Clint, who has a little boy in his arms. You turn your head to see Pietro.

He looks at you, giving you a smirk that feels all too familiar like it's his last one.

Pietro is a step faster than you, he probably always will be. But that doesn't stop you. You force yourself to run. Run faster. Run harder. The sheer amount of force causes a sickening crack in your legs, but you make it just in time.

Pietro only gets shot once through his stomach before you push him out of the way and cover Clint and the child.

The shooting stops as Ultron flies away.

The silence settles, and Clint looks up to see you standing straight before him. You've been shot all over, multiple times in multiple areas.

You suddenly puke up blood as you fall to your knees.

Pietro immediately gets up from the ground rushing over to you, catching you in his arms.

"Why did you do that?!" He yells at you, hands over your body, but he doesn't know which areas to stop the bleeding.

"You idiot," you tell him. "Can you heal from being shot? I don't think so."

Though you say that, the only thing that healed, even though rather slowly, was the crack in your leg.

"You're not healing," Clint says, his tone urgent. He looks at you as blood pours out. "Why aren't you healing?"

"She doesn't have enough blood in her system."

Clint turns over to see David, looking horrified. He kneels down, taking you from Pietro's arms.

"I told you, you fucking idiot, that we should've just taken more blood bags from the hospital," David scolds you.

"This is hardly the time for, _'I told you so,'_ " You reply weakly.

"Get the kid onto the boat," David looks at Clint and then looks at Pietro. "You need to go collect your sister. There are no more civilians, and we're reaching the stratosphere soon."

"What about--"

"I got this," David says as he bites into your neck. You hiss at the sudden pain. Clint and Pietro have more questions, but they do as David says and take off.

"You better pray to God that we make it back in time," David purses his lips as he pushes your sleeve up to bite in various places.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

The damage to Sokovia is still devastating. It's not entirely obliterated, and people will be able to rebuild their country.

The Hulk, unfortunately, had taken off on his own in stealth mode. He didn't want to be found.

It seems The Vision has taken care of completely destroying Ultron, taking this chapter to an end.

It's not the perfect ending, but it could be a lot worse.

There was only one problem left.

You were dying.

Or at least, on your way to either going completely feral for blood to help you heal or going to a deep slumber until you were fed.

Either one was on the table at this point.

"What do we do?" Natasha asks David sharply as they're still in the air being transported back.

They were on the Helicarrier in their own private section away from the people as they didn't know what you were going to do.

"I only temporarily closed her wounds to stop the bleeding," David tells everyone, explaining why he bit you earlier. He was injecting his healing venom. "Venom doesn't quite work the same way on vampires as it does on humans. She still has a lot of internal bleeding that won't stop, and the only thing that can stop it is if she drinks blood."

"We don't have any blood bags on here!" Steve says as he looks at you, full of worry.

"We could...we could cut and drain our own blood," Natasha looks at you before looking back at David. "She can drink the blood as long as she's not biting us, right?"

David purses his lips as if to consider it but then shakes his head. "She's too badly wounded, it won't be enough. Plus, none of you are in the state to lose any more blood, even if you guys all donate. I can heal your wounds, but I can't make your body produce more blood."

 _"Then what do we do?"_ Natasha wants to scream. She can't lose you. She just can't.

At that moment, Pietro and Wanda come in. Pietro can hardly stand up himself, so Wanda is supporting him. They had heard part of the conversation as they came in.

Pietro looks at you, face full of anguish because you're only like this because you saved him.

You're tense on the table, occasionally arching your back up in pain and need. David is holding you down by your arm in case you suddenly get a burst of energy and massacre everyone in this room for blood.

Wanda looks at you, jaw clenched.

The feeling of loss is threatening her on her doorstep. You had saved Pietro, God knows if she could survive to lose her only family.

But Wanda was not ready to let you go either. 

It has occurred to Wanda that outside of Pietro, the only person in this world that may understand her, believe in her, protect her, care for her...would be you.

There was something there, something undefined and frightening. Wanda was sure you felt it too with her, though ignoring it for Natasha.

David looked at Wanda. He knew that he shouldn't.

Yet before he could even stop himself, Wanda looks sharply over at him, catching his thoughts.

You would be entirely beyond pissed at him.

It would cause a whole new set of problems for everyone.

He was sure you would rather die.

But David wasn't willing to risk the chance of you going feral, which was almost guaranteed at this point, or your death.

He just wasn't.

"She can drink my blood," Wanda says, drawing everyone's attention. Wanda was the only person who hadn't sustained any significant damage or got shot. She could afford to lose blood.

"What?" Steve looks at David, who has his lips pursed.

"It would work, wouldn't it?" Wanda also looks at you, your eyes glowing a red she's all too familiar in seeing in herself. "It would be even better than drinking from a blood bag to feed directly from me."

Wanda doesn't fully understand what you are, or the concept of vampires, but she catches pieces here and there from everyone around the room.

And there's a feeling of intrigue and possession that flutters knowing that she was the only one you could drink blood from, aside from her brother.

Pietro grips his sister's arms tighter, torn because if you could drink her blood, you could drink his, but he was also in no shape to lose any more blood.

Wanda pats his arms to assure him she'll be fine. Pietro leans against the wall as Wanda comes closer to you.

"It...would, but..." David's eyes shift over to Natasha.

Natasha clenches her jaw.

The words about how feeding can be an incredibly intimate and private act come back to her.

It's not that Natasha is particularly jealous of Wanda in that way. She's more jealous that she can't do anything to help you herself.

Natasha can't muster the words out of her mouth, so she tersely nods.

With that, Wanda stands right next to your lying body on the bed.

"Everyone, stand back," David says, trying to keep you still, but it's like you can smell how close to feeding you are.

The burst of energy does come, but you use to break out of David's grip as you fling him across the room.

"Shit!" David yells, convinced that you're going to kill Wanda to drain her blood. He stands up, reading to try to fight you even though it would be a losing battle.

But he stops.

You merely stand before Wanda, her face in your hands as you tilt her head up to expose her neck.

You press your nose against her neck, taking a long inhale as you purr at the scent.

Wanda can hear alarm bells in her head that tell her you're a predator, and she's your prey, but she doesn't tremble. Instead, she brings her hands up to hold your wrists as if to keep them in place.

You chuckle throatily, attitude nothing like your usual self, "How brave."

Wanda swallows slowly, the action very visible as the muscles in her neck move. 

"It was you who taught me that I could be a hero," she says quietly as if it's only for your ears.

The words seem to trigger something in you as you sink your teeth into her neck, a mouthful of blood rushing into you.

It's been too long, you almost forgot what it was like.

It was hot in your mouth, as fresh as it was.

You could feel a warm body being pressed you, hear a heart beating, and smell the arousal.

A deep moan left Wanda's mouth, unable to control it. A hot, liquid fire shot down to her lower stomach, pooling in her gut.

Wanda couldn't describe how it felt, what she was experiencing, but you were doing something to her as you drank from her, holding her close to you.

You suddenly lift her into the air, wrapping her legs around your waist as you blurred over to the drawer cabinet against the wall, pushing Wanda up on it roughly. Your hands held her possessively.

Wanda was pressed to the wall as she sat on the cabinet, her legs still wrapped against you tightly as she fisted her hand into the back of your hair.

Everyone watched in astonishment of the act, David biting on his tongue as he looked at Natasha, who had no expression on her face to indicate what she was feeling.

Blood was rushing into your mouth, and it was delicious, making you delirious, but that didn't stop you from realizing there was a crowd in the room watching you feed, watching Wanda unravel.

You released your mouth from her neck.

 _"Leave,"_ you demanded lowly and roughly, hardly coherent before you resume sinking your teeth back into Wanda.

Natasha stared at you, you seemed lost in your own world as you fed, and Natasha knows that you are only like this due to how injured you are.

Still.

As everyone leaves the room, Natasha looks at the two of you once more. Wanda's hand is buried in your hair while she's arching into you.

As she exits the room, Natasha catches Wanda's eyes, staring at her intensely with an unknown meaning in them before her eyes flutter close just as the door shuts.


	11. Part XI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiatus is over hopefully and we’re on the last arc! Shit is gon’ happen so strap yourselves in and enjoy the ride 👏🏻👏🏻

Hot. 

Your body felt hot, and there was something deliciously thick going down your throat.

Blood. 

You could taste it so very clearly. 

You could feel your body healing, the bullet holes mending themselves until there was nothing left, and your body in pristine condition. 

Thumping.

You could hear a pounding in your ears and then a soft, breathy moan. 

You wanted to be closer. 

Your hand presses against the wall as your other hand presses the warmth closer to you.

God, you could get lost in this forever as you swallow a mouthful of blood. 

_"Ah..."_

The sound is both melodic and also a warning bell to you. 

You need to stop.

_You have to stop._

Your hand presses against the wall harshly as you feel it break as you curl your hand in an attempt to pull yourself away. 

The tight grip of Wanda's legs around your waist starts to loosen as you pull your mouth away from her neck. She's still holding you close, and you don't move your head too far from her neck. 

The thumping of her heart feels weaker, and you purse your lips, disappointed with yourself. You clean the drip of blood trailing down her throat, ignoring the way Wanda's breath still hitches before your lick at the bite wounds at her neck. 

Soon enough, the bite marks begin to disappear, leaving Wanda's neck bare and unblemished, but a slight red overtone stain from her blood. 

When you pull back enough to see her face, Wanda looks drowsy.

"I'm sorry," you swallow. "I went overboard."

Wanda shakes her head lightly, feeling dizzy from just the motion. 

"It's fine," she says, "I didn't mind."

Wanda tries to stand up, but it's too much as her legs give way, and she falls. You catch her before her knees hit the ground. 

You purse your lips before you hook your arm under the back of Wanda's legs, pulling her up to carry her.

Wanda rests her head against your shoulder as you carry her out. When the door opens, you're met with everyone waiting outside to see if you were okay.

You see Natasha standing there, looking at the two of you, and you feel like you've been punched in the stomach. But you don't get much time to dwell on it when Pietro comes up to you, worry all over his face when he looks at his sister.

He squints his eyes at you, and it doesn't faze you as you are to blame for her state.

"She's okay," you tell him quietly. "She just needs some rest and lots of fluids."

"I'll get her some juice. We should be landing soon, so I'll whip up something for her to help," David offers as he takes off. 

Pietro looks like he wants to take Wanda from your arms, but you cock your brow at him.

"You'll drop her in your state if you try to carry her," you tell him, looking at his bullet wound specifically and how he was hunched over slightly. 

Pietro scowls but relents as he follows you to the room next door as you set Wanda down gently. Your hand moves to gently get her to let go of your jacket, and you set the blanket over her.

As you get up to leave, Pietro stops you.

He presses his lips together, frowning initially before he lets out a sigh. "Thank you."

You merely nod, patting his shoulder gently before you leave him alone with his sister. 

When you leave, you're on a one-track mission to talk to Natasha, but before you can even reach her, Maria intercepts. It seemed Fury was looking for you to get some details regarding the mission and had some questions. 

You scrunch your nose as you look at Natasha. 

"We can talk later," Natasha says quietly so only you can hear as she nods. 

You sigh, looking at her forlornly before you follow Maria.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

There's a wave of peace when you arrive back in New York. You never thought you would feel this way about a place. A part of you thinks that maybe it's not the place, but the fact that you're here with all the people you care about.

Your family.

Talking with Fury had taken longer than you wanted, giving you no chance to speak with Natasha. 

Everyone heads back to the Stark Tower. At first, you were going to follow along with them, but Natasha holds your hand, drawing you back while shaking her head.

"Let's head back to your place," Natasha says quietly.

You gulp.

"Okay."

You feel it must be a good sign still with Natasha holding your hand as she leads you away to her car, though she's quiet the entire ride, making no move to talk. So, you also sit quietly as you watch the scenery out the window. 

Natasha walks herself straight to your bathroom when she enters your home. You feel grimy yourself and head to a different washroom yourself to clean up. 

You finish before Natasha, and you head over to the kitchen to make her a drink. Unsure of what Natasha wanted to say or how she would react, you didn't think it would hurt to try to bribe her with a drink. It has turned quite late into the night, so you decide to make her a tea instead of coffee.

You go to sit on the sofa, quietly putting soft music in the background in an attempt to soothe yourself as you idly feel the soft fabric underneath your fingers. 

Soon enough, you hear the water turn off in the washroom, and Natasha comes out, fresh and clean, with a towel around her neck as she dries her hair. 

Warmth spreads over your chest as Natasha comes to sit on the sofa, right next to you. You hand her the drink, and she quirks her brow at you with a slight curve in her lip as she takes it.

Humming after she takes a sip, she sets the drink down, towel discarded to the side as she looks at you. 

You purse your lips.

"I--"

You're cut off when Natasha launches herself at you, her lips hitting yours roughly as she slides her fingers across your jaws. 

Surprise takes over you as you automatically reach over to wrap your arms around Natasha's waist. She bites your lower lip, rather hard, and you wonder if this is a punishment. 

When she pulls back, the two of you are a little breathless. 

"Are you...upset?" You ask slowly, scrunching your brow and licking your bottom lip to soothe the pain Natasha inflicted.

Natasha leans back, settling to rest her head between your shoulder and neck as she sighs deeply and heavily. 

"Yes, and no," she answers after moments of silence. Your arms are still wrapped around her as your fingers slide down her arm. You place your hand gently atop of Natasha's. 

You don't say anything because it seems like Natasha is still putting her thoughts together. 

"I'm not mad," Natasha decides. "I know that what you did was out of necessity. You were severely injured, and the only person who could help you was Wanda."

You could sense the lingering at the end of her sentence. 

"But...I don't know. Seeing you with her, so...lost within her...it was different. I understand it, I really do, and on top of that, Wanda is a beautiful girl," Natasha sighs.

You nod, knowing Natasha could feel it. 

"I'm not mad," Natasha repeats.

"Then?" You lick your bottom lip.

Natasha turns her hand around to lace her fingers with yours, pursing her lips, annoyed by how she's unable to describe how she feels.

"I don't know."

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

You were miffed.

With David specifically.

The offender was aware since you've ignored him for a couple days now and haven't looked once in his direction.

You stood with everyone at the Stark Towers as they talked casually. The place is currently being repaired right now after all the damage done by Ultron, but it was still standing for the most part.

Tony talked about how he wanted to build a new compound for the Avengers and was considering either selling the Stark Tower or just taking it back for his company. 

You were standing at the side, between Steve and Natasha, as you tap your foot idly. 

David stood across from you, staring at you while you pointedly didn't look at him, mouth pressed in a firm line. 

A part of you wanted to be rational.

It's not like you were unaware of the circumstances. Drink from Wanda or risk killing everyone on the helicarrier, and also killing yourself in the process. 

And by God knows, no one would've been able to stop you. 

But...you were still so angry.

David knew the consequences of this, and he took it, and you could not blame him for it.

"You can't ignore me forever," David says quietly, moving his mouth so quickly, no one can hear but you. 

You don't say anything.

"Ignoring me isn't going to solve anything, and you know it," David continues on. "We need to talk now, and I'll make a scene if I have to."

You pause for a moment, eyes flittering over to Wanda, who is standing next to David along with Pietro. She's got her brow raised as if she could hear the conversation between the two of you. You don't doubt the possibility that she could.

You look at David, who is staring at you challengingly. Making a scene would be awkward, but you felt childish, wanting to ignore David a little more.

So, you called his bluff. 

And he proved you wrong. 

David barrels into you, tackling you into the empty space as everyone gasps, tensing as they want to break up the fight but knowing they physically would be unable to do so. 

"Stop being so stubborn!" David yells at you, atop of you, and you bare your teeth at him.

Being older brings advantages; David knows that as you flip him over, toppling him underneath you.

"You know exactly why I'm pissed at you!" You snarl at him.

David goes limp in your hold, sighing as he does so.

"I know," he says quietly, "and I'm sorry, but there wasn't any other choice."

Hearing David apologize to you even though you knew it wasn't really his fault made you grimace. 

God, you were such an ass sometimes. 

You sigh, loosening your grip on David as you stand up, pulling him up with you. 

"What...the hell was that?" Tony says, staring in disbelief at you two. 

"Just a disagreement," you mutter as you rotate your shoulder to relocate it back into place. 

Natasha purses her lip at you as you walk back up to her.

You shrug at her, not really wanting to get into it again.

"We've got some things we have to discuss first, we'll meet up with you guys later," David announces, pulling you with him as you frown.

Everyone just blinks at the two of you exist the room, and head to the rooftop. Once up there, you feel a slight breeze and can smell how fall is approaching. 

"Are you done being pissed at me?" David asks as the two of you look over the railing at the city. 

You exhale heavily through your nose.

"I know it's not your fault," you tell David, "but I would have preferred it more if you took me and jumped off the helicarrier and have our bodies be obliterated when we hit the ground."

"I'll keep that in mind the next time we encounter this problem," David smiles wryly.

"You put me in a horribly awkward situation, David, nevermind the consequences of it," you sighed, pressing your temples with your hand before rubbing your face. 

"How did Natasha take it?" David asked. 

You shrug. "She didn't really take it any way at all. She said she doesn't know how she felt about it. She's neither upset nor okay with it, but she understands."

"That must be better than her being pissed at you," David shrugs. 

"I don't know," you say, "I know how to deal with pissed, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do when even she doesn't know how she feels."

"And Wanda?" David probes.

You tense up immediately at her name, David catching it immediately.

"That bad or that good?" 

You turn to glare at him.

"Sorry."

You turn back to the city skyline. 

"I don't know," you tell him honestly, blinking slowly. "She looks incredibly so much like Tatyana, and yet, I know distinctly it's not her. She's both familiar and new to me. A part of me understands I'm the only link to explaining her family's past, but I feel like I need to keep my distance as well, even though I can't now."

"Why? Did you feel something for her?" David asks.

"A little too much," you wryly admit. "It was terrifying, honestly."

"But?" David probes some more.

You look at him. "But I am in love with Natasha."

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

You and David stay on the rooftop for a while just to enjoy the quiet while you can before you head back to have the real serious talk.

When you come down, you see that everyone had still stayed in the room, loitering as if they weren't waiting for the two of you to go back. 

Natasha looks at you, and you nod, telling her that you and David were okay. David looks at Natasha and gives her his dashing smile that she returns in small. 

"We need to talk," you say in a sobering tone, looking at Wanda, while you make a move to grab Natasha's hand. 

Wanda stares at you, not saying anything as she tilts her head.

"About what?" Pietro cuts in, looking at you with a frown. 

"Пьетро," Wanda says, accent thick as she grabs his arm to calm him down. "About what?" Wanda asks as she turns her head back to you. 

You look around the room as if to tell everyone else this is a private matter.

"Oh no," Tony says, leaning against a counter. "We're all in this together now. Share with the class."

Steve was the only other person in the room, and he nodded his head firmly at you in more of a supportive way than Tony. 

You let out a long sigh as you turn back to Wanda.

"It's about...what happened when I fed on you," you say slowly and rather awkwardly, feeling Natasha's hand tighten around yours. 

Wanda licks her lips. 

"You've probably figured out by now that I know an ancestor of your guys'," you say.

"That woman I've seen in your head..." Wanda brings up, and you grimace.

"Yeah, her," you confirm. 

"Wait, what?" Pietro says, swerving back to look at his sister. "She knows someone in our family tree, and you didn't say anything?"

"I didn't know for sure," Wanda shrugs. 

"How did you know her? Was that why you were looking for us?" Pietro asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. 

"Her name was Tatyana. She was..." you clear your throat. "She was...my lover. But yes, she was partly why I was looking for the two of you. But the truth is, every time there is a new descendant, I always look for them. Although somewhere along the way, I lost track because your great-great-grandfather decided to have multiple children in secret."

"So, we actually have a big family we don't know about?" Pietro scrunches his eyebrows together.

You shake your head. "No, you two are the sole surviving people left in your family. Everyone else has rather lived short lives or died due to an accident or illness."

Pietro continues to stare at you suspiciously but moves on. "You say this Tatyana woman was our ancestor, but how did we come to be if she was your lover."

"Tatyana had a life before me," you shrug. "She never really talked about it, but she was in an arranged marriage when she was younger and had a child. Of course, her husband took on a second wife since it was common back in the day. It wasn't the life she wanted, and she had never been inclined to children. Leaving was easy for her."

"She was...a witch," Wanda says slowly as if to confirm with you.

"Yes," you nodded stiffly. "Her...powers is genetic."

"But I didn't have any powers when I was born. I was given it through the scepter," Wanda argued. 

You lick your lips. "Over the years, your bloodline was diluted. The powers are genetic, but with Tatyana, but since no one in the family ever married another witch or warlock, the powers became weaker and weaker every time until there was basically nothing. In this day and age, you would be so lucky to even find a true witch or warlock by blood because they're all in hiding, though the stake burning has stopped."

"Then...the scepter..." Wanda pondered.

"You may not have had obvious powers, but you probably experienced smaller things as a child. A feeling you couldn't ignore, a dream that came true, something buzzing at your fingertips, but you just couldn't explain it. The scepter unlocked that gene within you. It jumpstarted the powers you had inside all along," you theorize. 

Wanda looked at you in shock, confirming that she experienced those things in her youth. 

"Why didn't I get the same gift as Wanda then if I have the gene too?" Pietro asked.

You shrug. "I'm only guessing. I've never actually seen any males in your family tree display any inkling of a gift. I'm assuming the scepter had more of play in powers for you."

Pietro hums, looking at his sister before shrugging and moving on. 

"Well, a great history lesson. You slept with my ancestor, is that what you wanted to tell us?" Pietro cocked his brow with a smirk, and you roll your eyes.

"No, I wish it were just that," you sigh inaudibly, feeling your stomach drop as you looked back at Wanda.

"The day I fed from you...did you feel anything happen to your body after?"

Wanda cocked her brow at you, and you felt your cheeks warm and forced it down before it could physically show on your face.

"I mean, like, a burning... _no,_ I mean...did you feel any pain afterward?" You stumbled over your words, not even daring to look at Natasha as you kept holding her hand. "Specifically, did any of your bones hurt?"

Wanda stares at you a moment longer before nodding slowly. "I did," she says. "I felt something here like it was on fire...I assumed it was because too much blood was taken." She points to her sternum.

You pursed your lips, feeling suspicion rise higher inside.

You turn to Tony. "Do you have an x-ray machine here?"

"I do," Tony raises one of his brows. 

"Why do you need an x-ray?" Pietro asked, mildly alarmed.

You didn't answer as Tony led everyone out of the room into the medical bay area where there were multiple body x-ray scanning machines, though many of the devices but two were crushed when Ultron attacked the tower. 

You had to let go of Natasha's hand as you walk up to Wanda, who is looking at your own sternum for a moment before looking back at you.

"I need to confirm if what I believe is true," you tell her softly, asking her to get onto the machine.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours," Wanda says with a slight raise of her brow and a tiny quirk in her lips like she knows you're hiding something underneath. 

You purse your lips, not really wanting everyone to see what is in your body, but you know it's only fair if you're asking Wanda.

"Alright," you agree with a nod. 

"Are you serious?" David blinks in disbelief, and Natasha turns to him with curious eyes. 

You shrug.

"It was bound to come out at some point...I wanted to show Nat sometime anyways," you look over at your girlfriend with a smile, feeling slightly guilty about hiding things still. 

Both you and Wanda get onto the machine while Tony operates it to get a CT scan of the bones. 

The scan is over relatively quickly, doing the front and back as you both make it out of the room to join the crowd around the monitor. 

The images slowly load.

 _"Jesus Christ,"_ Steve exclaims under his breath.

 _"What the fuck,"_ Tony squints his eyes as if he doesn't believe what he's seeing. 

Though both pictures showed up, yours drew all the attention.

Marks and drawings were engraved into your bones everywhere on the front and back of your ribs like they were tattoos. 

"What are these?" Natasha asked as she leans in to take a closer look at the images. 

"They're searings from a priest," you tell them, turning your attention to Natasha.

"Leo?" She asks quietly. 

You nod your head, blinking languidly as you look at her face.

"What's it for?" Steve asked, squinting his eyes slightly.

You stand straighter as you readjust your jacket. 

"They're markings that allow me to go into the sun without being burnt alive," you say, watching as everyone just blink at you. "David has the same ones, though not done by the same priest."

"So, something does happen if you go into the sun!" Tony exclaims as if he was right all along.

"...Yes, but I don't sparkle. It's quite the opposite. It burns and rips at the flesh and smells exactly like what you think it would smell like," you tell him. Tony made a gagging face at the thought. 

"Wait, what is that?" Pietro says as he looked at Wanda's image, finding a scrawling in red burned into her sternum.

Everyone draws their attention over before looking back at yours.

You had an identical one in the same place. 

The searings on your rib were in black, while the one on your sternum was red in color.

"Oh, shit," David says, breaking the silence. "We activated the second part of your curse."

"Curse? What curse? What did you do to my sister?" Pietro pushes past everyone until he's standing in front of you, gripping the lapels of your jacket. 

_"Пьетро!"_ Wanda calls after him, putting her hand on his arm to pull him back, but he doesn't budge.

You swallow.

"As I said," you put your hands around Pietro's, forcing him to let go. "I was involved with Tatyana, your ancestor, and it didn't end well."

"She cursed you because of a quarrel or a breakup?" Pietro snorted as if he didn't believe you.

You quirked your brow at him. "No, she cursed me because I killed her."

"You _killed_ her?" Tony says in incredulity. "You _killed_ your girlfriend." 

"I had to," you shift uncomfortably, the guilt rising up as Natasha moves to hold your hand. "She turned. Upset with how villages were hunting witches along with other horrible things, she was trying to create vampires using her magic to destroy the villages. She was murdering innocent people, and nothing I said reached her anymore. When I begged her to stop, she didn't. I did what I had to."

"Jesus fucking Christ," Tony blinked. "You know, I'm surprised you didn't become a villain; your origin story would've been so good."

You roll your eyes.

"What was the curse, and what does that have to do with my sister?" Pietro demanded.

"The curse was that I could never feed from a human being other than her. But because you are descendants from her, you share the same blood, which creates somewhat of a loophole." You sigh, pressing your lips together as you look at Wanda. "The reason I was actually looking for the two of you is that I always keep track of the descendants of Tatyana's. I do that so I know who I cannot ever risk of drinking their blood, even if you donated blood by chance, I wouldn't take your blood bag."

You look at Natasha, "I'm sorry, but I didn't tell you everything that night," you say softly. 

Natasha bit her tongue, "You said that you didn't want to find a cure to this curse...but you've actually had already tried to find one, haven't you?

You nodded, biting your bottom lip.

"Yes...Leo and I spent years trying to find the cure at first. At one point, I encountered one of Tatyana's grandchildren. I could smell the same blood of Tatyana's in her. At that time, I was living off of animal blood," you sighed. "I don't know, something came over me, and I jumped at her. I realized that I could drink from her...but that's when I realized the second part of this curse." 

You looked at Wanda apologetically. "I inflict this curse back on them."

 _"What?"_ Pietro bellowed.

"What happened to Tatyana's granddaughter?" Steve asked with arms crossed as he processed the information.

"Another vampire tried to feed on her and she died instantly," you frowned. "When Leo and I realized the intricacies of this, I stopped looking for the cure because it was clear there wasn't one without Tatyana being the one to remove it. On top of that, it kept my bloodlust in check. I had to be more conscious about it unless I wanted to die."

"Why didn't you just tell me?" Natasha asked quietly. 

"Because I'm not proud of it. Worse than killing Tatyana because I had to was awful. But then I went and tried to remove her curse," you frowned slightly. "I'm not like you, Nat. You deal with your ledger every day proudly and without hesitation."

You look away, ashamed of what you're admitting. "I couldn't. I wanted to get rid of the curse because even though it was what I deserved, it was just a daily reminder of Tatyana, and I didn't want to remember what I had done to her."

Fingers grip your chin, pulling you back, and you face Natasha.

"Hey, you are the bravest person I know," she says softly, and the words linger like she wants to say something else, but there's a crowd here. "We'll talk more later."

Natasha lifts your fingers to her lips and presses a soft kiss to them. The action brings a deep pit feeling in your stomach, and you feel something threatening to spill over, but you swallow it because now isn't the time. 

"So, what do we do now?" Pietro asks, bringing everyone back to the matter at hand.

You look solemnly at Pietro. "There's nothing I can do. I have to keep feeding from her regularly. Otherwise, she'll die."

"Why?" Pietro demanded, stress clear on his face. 

"This curse is a catch 22 situation. On the one hand, Wanda is the only person I can feed from. But on the other hand, now I'm the only vampire who can feed on her. If any other vampire tries to feed on her, it will react badly with my venom and kill her. If I don't regularly feed on her and inject new venom, her cells will slowly deteriorate and kill her. My venom is both a poison and a cure for her." Your expression was grim, and you looked over to Wanda, but the girl seemed to have no reaction at all to what you were saying, so you were unable to gauge how she was feeling. 

"And what?" Pietro pressed. "You'll do this to her forever? Because there's no fucking cure?"

You didn't really have an answer to that because it's not like you've encountered this situation. The last descendant you drank from died due to another vampire getting to her. You were sure as hell not going to let that happen this time, but you had a feeling Wanda could handle her own if someone tried to attack her. 

"No," you decided, exhaling softly. "I'm...going to try to find the cure again. If it was just me, that's one thing, but you're right; I can't let Wanda be affected forever too."

Natasha squeezed your hand, and you turned slightly to look at her, finding her giving you a small smile.

"How are you going to find a cure? I thought the only cure to this was if Tatyana reversed what she did, and she's no longer here," Steve asked.

You lick your lips as you lock eyes with David.

"It's been a while, but we're going to find Leo's descendent."

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

The day comes to a quiet end, and you find yourself looking out the window. The city is still bustling, and it's a reminder that New York is a city that never sleeps, and you kind of miss the atmosphere out in the countryside where Clint lived.

Natasha left with David to help him try to track down Leo's descendent. Though, you know it will be relatively easy.

Steve had pulled you aside after asking you seriously if you wanted him to stay to help you with this matter, but you shook your head.

"You need to find Bucky," you tell him. "He's out there, waiting for you unconsciously, I bet."

Steve seems like he wants to stay still, but you smile as you pat his broad shoulder.

"David found a tip on Bucky for you, so you need to go because it's not looking hot for him," you pass him a folded piece of paper.

"What if you need me?" Steve frowned.

"You'll be the first I'll call, solider," you wink.

"I better be," he smiles back, pulling you into a hug before he left. 

A part of you wonders how things will play out like how you saw when you touched Tony's hand. Regardless, if you could get Tony to think the Accords was a horrible idea, then things would change.

But changing Tony's mind or trying to influence him was like trying to move a mountain.

"Hey."

You turn to see Wanda standing at the door, far from you. When you turn, she takes it as a sign to enter the room and approach you.

"Hey," you reply, feeling your body going stiff, the conversation with David fresh in your mind. 

Wanda stands next to you before turning her head to look at the view outside.

"The view is very different than what I'm used to," she tells you quietly. 

"Better or worse?" You ask in return.

"Both. On the one hand, this is not the view of my homeland, but I suppose this is better than watching my country collapse."

You purse your lips at that, feeling sympathy for the girl before you.

"They will rebuild," you tell her softly, "and when you return, it will be a beautiful view once more."

Wanda gives you a small smile as she turns to face you. No one says anything, and the quiet settles over the two of you as you stare at each other. 

"I feel like you were meant to be in my life, and I'm meant to be in yours," Wanda tells you, blinking as if she's unsure if she should be saying so. 

"You feel something for me," Wanda states, and you immediately rush to deny it.

 _"Don't,"_ Wanda warns you, and you press your lips together to hold the words back. "You do, and you can't lie to me about it. I...I feel confused around you. You and Natasha. I don't know what to make of any of it."

"There's so much history tied between us...I worry that your feelings are because of my ancestor--because you mistake me for her."

"I don't," you tell her immediately, not wanting her to feel like she was some replacement. "I admit you two are similar...in more ways than you know...but I know that you're not her."

"How?" Wanda smiles sardonically.

"Easiest explanation? Scent. Vampires are extremely sensitive to scent, and you have your own distinct smell. Long explanation? There's no one that could ever replace Tatyana to me, and I don't want anyone to. You are your own person, just as Natasha is. In my heart, Natasha is something new and cannot also ever be replaced," you say, wanting Wanda to understand, but also to draw a line. 

"And me?" Wanda pushes. "Where do you want me to stand in your heart?"

You clench your jaw, just about to answer when Natasha and David enter the room.

"We've found the descendent. He lives in Texas," David tells you. 

You take a step back from Wanda, clearing your throat quietly as you nod. 

Your girlfriend stares at you, her eyes shifting to Wanda for a microsecond before she looks back at you as if Natasha could tell she just walked into a tense moment.

"Good," you say. "We'll leave tomorrow morning. Everyone should get some rest."

You walk towards Natasha, grabbing her hand as you lead her out the room, only looking back once at Wanda, who stood there with her arms crossed over her chest as she looks at you with an expression you find yourself unable to decipher.

Nor forget.


	12. PART XII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing David's King 😏🥰

_"Ah..."_

The sound made you stop, pulling your mouth away as you stood straighter while licking your lips. 

Wanda stood in front of you, breathless as she leaned against the wall, unable to move too much with the tight space. Her hands drifted from your neck to rest on your biceps. Turning, you look at the mirror before you. 

Eyes red with stained lips, you internally sighed, feeling an uncomfortable pit in your stomach that told you everything felt both right and wrong. 

"I think that's enough..." You say quietly so Wanda can hear, but you don't attract too much attention outside. You turn to grab some paper towels from the dispenser as you wet them under the sink to wipe your mouth. 

Turning to Wanda, you notice you hadn't closed up the wound on her neck and purse your lips. The brunette seems to realize as well as she tilts her head to the side, exposing her neck to you once more before she grabs the edge of your bomber jacket and pulls you back against her roughly.

_"Wanda,"_ you call her name in warning. Though you are a seasoned vampire, you weren't looking to dance along the edge with the newly feeding you have to do.

"You should finish me off before you say you're done at least," Wanda says, and you feel yourself biting your tongue at how suggestive she sounds.

You wonder if she's doing it on purpose. 

Nonetheless, you sigh, leaning your head down, careful to not brush yourself more against her than you must. You lick at the bite wounds, tentatively but quickly, watching the wounds close after.

You pull away, Wanda letting her grip go on you. You use the wet towel to wipe her neck clean of the bloodstains before you throw it down the toilet and flush.

Though feeding gives you energy and revitalizes you, you can't help but feel drained from the experience. 

You're about to leave again when Wanda pulls you back.

_"Wanda,"_ you say in a more serious warning this time. She's been a little more daring the past couple of days, and you're both intrigued and frightened by it. 

Luckily for you, Wanda seems to know where the line is. 

"Relax," Wanda cocks her brow. "Your eyes are still glowing red. You should wait until it subsides before you go out."

You look back in the mirror, eyes glowing red brightly, and you sighed. Your body was overly excited about feeding again, and it would take time to adjust.

The two of you idly stand in the small space. You could hear people coming back and forth to check if the washroom is empty.

"So, how often is often?" Wanda asks.

You stand stiffly, cursing at how small airplane washrooms are.

"For now, once a week," you answer her. "But let me know if you feel unwell, and I will check to see if it's my venom."

Wanda nods, blinking languidly.

"I'm sorry," you say when you notice she looks tired. "I promise I will find a way to fix this."

Wanda gave you a tiny smirk. 

"No rush."

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

When you returned to your seat, you sat down with a sigh.

"You alright?" Natasha asked as she grabbed your hand. You turn to look at David. He was clutching his legs in tighter so that Wanda could squeeze past him to her seat. 

"Yeah, sorry for taking so long. The red in my eyes are still adjusting to fresh blood," you apologize to Natasha, pulling her hand to kiss the back of it gently before you settle in your seat.

It was just you and Natasha in the aisle, a small moment of peace that you're thankful for. It's been rather quiet between you and Natasha the last few days. When David had located Leo's descendant, he wanted to book the flight for the next day, but you insisted on taking a couple days to get your things together and rest. 

The days that followed were simply being in your home with Natasha, quiet as it seemed like Natasha was working through her own emotions and things she seemed not ready quite yet to speak to you about. 

And you were okay with that. 

"Have you been to Nashville before?" Natasha asks as she looks out the window, the city getting closer in view as it lowers. 

You nod, rubbing your thumb idly on the back of her hand. "Yes," you say, "In fact, David and I lived there for a few years."

"Oh?" Natasha smiles. "Did you like it?"

You shrug. "It's a little too country for me and not the good parts of Country culture." 

Natasha nods, and you take a moment to put your head on her shoulder, deeply inhaling the scent of vanilla and dry leaves. Natasha leans her head over, pressing her lips to the side of your head, causing your heart to flutter.

"I think I want to be in Bora Bora or maybe the Maldives," Natasha says softly after a moment. 

You turn your head upwards slightly, peering up at Natasha's face.

"I'll take you anywhere you want to go," you say as Natasha smiles, head lowering as she presses her lips against yours.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷ 

It seems like autumn is also coming to an end in Nashville, the air smelling a little crisper for winter arrival. 

Pietro has called Wanda again once her plane landed. He was a little upset that he couldn't come along, but Steve said he could use the help with locating Bucky, and speed would definitely be helpful.

At first, Pietro declined, but then Wanda insisted that he go with Steve. If they were going to make up for the things they've done and be a part of the team, this was the time to show it.

And so, they parted ways for the first time since, well, ever. 

"How are we getting there?" Wanda asked as she looked around the airport. Her face held a thinly veiled layer of discomfort that she was trying to hide, though poorly.

"Are you okay?" Natasha asked as she looked at Wanda, seeing through the tough act.

Wanda stared at Natasha, and for a moment, you don't think she's going to answer.

"Yeah," Wanda says finally, licking her lips and swallowing. "I'm just a little tired...and there's a lot of people here. It's...loud."

Natasha looks around and notes that it seems to be prime time for flights. People are bustling around trying to get to their gate on time, and families have gathered to meet people coming off the plane or say goodbye. 

"I can't do anything about the loudness," Natasha says, digging into her pocket. "But, here." Pulling out a hard candy wrapped in transparent paper, she gives it to Wanda.

Wanda holds the candy in her palm, tilting her head slightly before she looks back at Natasha. "Thanks."

"Might help with the tiredness," Natasha shrugs before she tells you she'll go grab the bags and walks off with David following her. 

Wanda is opening the candy from the wrapper, popping the little thing in her mouth as she sighs, eyes fluttering close as she rubs her temple. 

"Headache?" You ask her, garnering her attention.

Wanda nods with a frown. "Yes, more so lately, and it's worse in a crowd. I can hear everything in people's heads, and in a crowd, it's a jumble."

"Turn it off," you tell her with a shrug, and she gives you a look.

"It's not that easy."

"It is," you tell her back. "You're like a radio picking up every station is the available area. It gets easier with time and practice to distinguish the noise, but if you can't handle it in such a large crowd, turn it off."

Wanda merely stares at you as if she doesn't know whether or not to believe you, but she supposes because it's not like you're a stranger to her powers, she sighs.

"How?" She asks.

You come to stand closer to her, blocking her view of anything behind you.

"Focus," you tell her, "You only need to be hearing one voice, and that's your own. Focus on the space within your own mind. Live there."

Wanda gives you a look where it tells you she doesn't quite think it will work but closes her eyes with a sigh and takes a deep breath.

"I...I can't focus," Wanda says frustratingly. 

"Relax," you tell her. "Try again, but this time, focus on my voice."

You go on to talk about miscellaneous things like the color of the walls, the scuff marks on the ground, the man with an obstinately ugly hat. And before you know it, the stress lines on Wanda's face begin to fade.

"Better?" You ask when she opens her eyes.

"Yeah," Wanda says breathlessly with relief, "Thank you."

You don't say anything else as Natasha comes back with David.

"So, how are we getting there?" Wanda repeats.

"We rented a car. I'll go grab it and pull it up front," you walk off before anyone say anything.

The ride is silent, with just a radio playing quietly in the background. It's you and David in the front as David helps you navigate and discuss details with you.

But that leaves Natasha and Wanda in the back. The two girls are on opposite ends, looking out the window. 

You sigh internally as you focus on the road in front of you.

"What's his name again?" 

David pulls up a file. "Robert," he says after a moment. "Devayan. He is Leonard's great-great-grandson. He's the priest for a church in his neighborhood. Well-known and respected in his community. He's got a wife, two kids, and a dog—very American dream with a picket fence and all."

You hum. 

"Does Leonard's descendants know about...?" Natasha asks as you look in the rearview mirror. 

"Us being vampires?" You supply for her helpfully with a smile as she nods. "Yes, they do, but the secret is only passed to the child who has the greatest alchemy affinity, which most kids won't show until they're at least 13."

"That being said," David jumps in, "we haven't really kept in touch because we only go to a descendant when we have another vampire entering a coven because they have to get the searings to be able to go into the sun, amongst other things. And as you can see, we haven't added anyone new since me."

You turn into a bright community. The sound of children's laughter and dogs barking make their way to your ear. It's a lively little suburban neighborhood, and you wonder if this was something you would have ever wanted. 

"Leonard seemed to be really close to you, to be willing to do so much," Wanda comments as she continues to stare at the window at the children playing. 

You pull up to the house, putting the car in park with a sigh.

"He was family."

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷ 

"Sorry, the wife and kid's are out shopping right now."

You look at the man before you. He was a young priest, and there were hints of Leo that you recognized in him, like the subtle ginger hair. 

"Didn't want to tag along?" David asks, and Robert laughs.

"Goodness, no. Can't say that's how I like to pass my time." Robert sets down a tea tray for the four of you, and Wanda takes up the task of pouring it. Putting in a splash of milk and two and a half sugar cubes, she gives a cup to you.

"Thanks," you say, scrunching your eyebrows initially. But it was your favorite way of taking simple tea, and you took it with ease. 

_"не против,"_ Wanda mutters as she continues on with pouring tea for Natasha and David, but leaves them to put in their own condiments.

"So, what's this about?" Robert asks as he settles into his seat. 

You shift in your seat a little, licking your lip before you clear your throat and bring his attention to you. "Yesterday is gone, tomorrow is a mystery, and today, I have you..."

Robert just stares at you wide-eyed and mouth gaped open. He seems to regain himself and clears his own throat.

"Until the days run out..." he breathes.

_"ти си моето семејство, во овој и во следниот живот,"_ you both complete the passage. His Slavic being much rougher than yours, but still, he completes it.

"Huh," Robert grunts in the back of his throat. He slumps in the back of his chair, blinking as he clasps his hands together. "You really exist."

"Did you think I didn't?" You cocked your brow at him. 

Robert gives a short, humorless laugh. "To be fair, no one in my family has seen you for a very, very long time. It's not like we have a family photo of you just lying around. I thought my grandfather was lying to me, and my father was not a believer either."

"Well," you shrug, "It gets hard to keep up with visitations when there's no reason to really."

"Even though the passage literally says we're family?" Robert cocks his brow.

" _Leo_ was my family. By that extension, yes, you are somewhat family, a wonderful legacy Leo left behind that I promised him I'd take care of," you try to delicately tell the man before you that no one could ever be family the way Leo was.

"Kind of hard to take care of us when you're not around," Robert says, but not in an unkind way.

"Being around is not the only way I can fulfill my promise. You truly think your family's trust fund just comes out of nowhere?" You rest your jaw against your hand. 

Robert seems surprised at that like he had no idea his entire family line was sponsored by you. 

"So it seems," Robert smiled softly before clearing his throat. "So what can I do for you?"

You lick your lips.

"I'm looking for you to find a way to break my curse, or at least, find a counterspell to suppress it until I can find another way," you tell him.

Robert stares at you. It takes a long moment, but he gives another small smile, sighing deeply as he grasps his temples. "Hah..." he lets out. "Figures the one time you come to see us for help, and I can't even help you. I was hoping you just needed a place to stay."

"What do you mean?" David asks, frowning. "You haven't even tried."

Robert looks up again, staring at David before he turns to you.

"I don't have the affinity for alchemy."

Silence ensues after Robert reveals his lack of gift. 

"You...don't have the affinity..." David says slowly.

"Guess it decided to skip a generation. My father wasn't much of a practitioner either," Robert pursed his lips together. He gets up, walking over to the kitchen, grabbing something off the refrigerator before coming back and passing the item to you. "This would be the person to go to if you're looking for help on that."

You look at the postcard in your hand with an address from Vermont. 

There wasn't anything else but a name and a short message.

_**Liam Bai** _ _I have settled in._

"And who is this?" You frown. The idea of having some outsider know your secrets was not ideal. 

Robert sighs.

"He's my adoptive brother."

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷ 

The annoyance of traveling all the way to Texas just to go to Vermont, an hour away from New York, irks you slightly. 

David pulls up a file on Liam on the way, but not too much is found. 

Chinese descendant. 26. Tattoo Artist. Adopted by Robert's grandfather when Liam was 17. 

He seems to run a small tattoo shop in Vermont, a decent following on his Instagram. Other than that, it seemed Liam prized his privacy and peace. No tickets, no personal social media accounts, a minimal online presence. 

"Jeeze, this guy gives me serial killer vibes. Only weirdoes have such a small digital footprint," David curls his lips. 

"We all have virtually none too, David," you cock your brow at him.

"Case and point," David smirks back at you while Natasha and Wanda chuckle.

Liam's house is a little away from the city where his tattoo shop resides. There are houses but quite spread apart, and it only reaffirms how Liam likes his quiet. 

The trees are bare with autumn colored leaves on the ground. The air crisp and cleaner being away from the city. When the four of you approach Liam's home, it a quaint house, wider than it is taller, and painted a deep burned orange. 

Hopping up the steps, you cross your arms and tap your foot impatiently, turning to look at the open space while Natasha rang the doorbell and knocked on the door with her knuckles.

You hear footsteps within the house, stern steps as they lazily make their way to the door. 

When it opens, you turn, and your eyes widen along with everybody else's.

This man, at least six feet tall, towers over everyone as he casually lifts his arms high to lean against each side of the door with his left leg crossed lazily over his right. 

He wears a muscle shirt, most of the top part of his body exposed. 

Tattoos. 

Everywhere.

A large black ornate religious cross tattooed on his throat, while you could see most of the creations of hands branded across his front chest near his collarbones, fingers just about it meet at his jugular notch. Each arm had a full sleeve tattoo. 

His left arm was designed with a twisted snake going downwards, a bitten apple in its mouth, shrouded with leaves and vines. His right arm were things you didn't quite recognize but could guess it was alchemy spells, fully tattooed elaborate circles and symbols. Even his hands and fingers had symbols and shapes. 

He looks like belongs in a gang rather than the adopted grandson of a long line of priests. 

"Well," his voice is somewhat low but soft. "You must be the visitors my dear brother sent my way." The way he says dear brother has the slightest tone of amusement, and you're not sure what to make of it. 

You stare at him a bit longer because his face is much clearer than the photo David pulled up. His skin is fair with a cool complexion, thick brows, and tousled black hair that seems to be perfectly styled that way with his fringe cascading just above his eyebrows, parting to reveal his forehead. His almond-shaped eyes showed a deep dark brown, like the rich soils of the earth, but yet hold no warmth. 

He looks somewhat familiar, but you're not sure if it's just because you recognize those eyes in yourself once upon a time.

You look over to David, who has his jaw hanging as he stares at the man before them. You nudge him, drawing him out of whatever trance he was in as he coughs to clear his throat.

"Er, yes," David stutters before he rambles off everyone's name quickly. "Can I--can we come in?" David blinks, and Liam turns his head slowly, locking eyes with David. A moment passes, and you're about to speak up again when Liam stands straighter and turns to walk back into his house.

The four of you follow the man inside, looking at the place around you. Antique furniture, just like yourself, but there are shelves upon shelves of books. 

Liam walks into his kitchen, putting on a pot of hot coffee as he pours himself some, but doesn't offer any to anyone else. He then walks into his study room and leans against his desk, half-sitting on the edge.

"What are you looking for help with?" He asks, neither sounding reluctant or eager. 

"Robert mentioned you were adopted into the family because you had an affinity for alchemy," you say. "I'm assuming you know--"

"That you're a vampire?" Liam cuts in. "Yes."

"You don't seem surprised by that," David interjects slowly. "Even Robert was taken aback."

Liam rolled his eyes lightly. "You can spare me the details. Robert and I both went through the spiel with his grandfather. Robert doesn't have the affinity. I do. Belief is different when you are different too."

"His grandfather...?" You raise your brow.

Liam puts his coffee down beside him. "You must realize that though I've been adopted by them, I'm not an actual descendant of Leonard Devayan. It was clear that I was brought in to help fulfill the promise between you and Leonard. I get financial support from them, but I'm not entitled to your trust fund to them, nor can I inherit the church."

"That's kind of fucked up, considering you'll be doing all the work here," you frown. 

Liam shrugs. "No need to feel sorry for me, I have zero interests in their money or inheriting the church, and Robert is annoyingly persistent that I visit them during the holidays. Besides, you can probably tell, I don't quite look like the regular priest."

"Actually," you give Liam a small smile, "Leo was rather similar to you. He liked tattoos as well. Though, just on his hands. He wasn't as adventurous."

Liam gave a small smirk but moved on. "So," he takes a breath, "What exactly are you looking for help with. Robert wasn't clear on the phone. Are you looking to turn more people and need searings for the sun?"

"No," you breathe, "I need you to help figure out how to end my curse."

Liam stares at you for a moment. The curse wasn't discussed in great length to him as not too much information was passed down because Leonard believed you wouldn't try to ask to remove it again. 

Still, he eyes you before he turns and studies Natasha a bit before Liam looks at Wanda.

"You bit her, spreading your curse to her," Liam deduces. 

"How do you know it's Wanda?" Natasha asks with a slight narrow of her eyes.

Liam licks his lip as he stands up, using his fingers to gesture everyone to follow up. He walks up to his bookshelf and pulls a book down like a lever, and the entire bookshelf splits and makes way into a secret room.

Inside the room, there are rows of tables filled with papers and things you would find in a science lab: beakers, stirring rods, mortars and pestles, and chemicals.

"In some ways, alchemy is a derivative from a witch's spells or magic. What do you think alchemy is?" Liam asks. 

"Leonard always said it was a power given to them by God to be able to protect themselves against the supernatural," you recall.

"Kind of, not really," Liam says as he walks over to grab a black chalk and begins to draw circles and symbols on the ground around Wanda, motioning her to stay in place. "There are different types and levels of alchemy. Alchemy, one on hand, can also be a science. It's changing one thing to something else. Anyone could practice it. Even Robert could to a degree."

Liam finishes drawing and drops the chalk to the side as he dusts off his hands. 

"But to have the _gift_ for alchemy," Liam lifts his thumb to his lips, "Means your DNA has an affinity to the sun, the moon, the wind, or the earth." 

Liam bites down on his thumb hard enough to break the skin, blood rushing out, the smell assaulting both you and David instantly before Liam presses his thumb against the line of the circle. 

The air changes. 

A white, hot electric buzz fills the air as the alchemy circle flashes a bright blue for a second before returning to normal. The chalk drawing underneath Wanda disappears.

"What...happened?" Wanda asks slowly as she looks at her hands and the rest of her body, but she doesn't find anything amiss. 

Liam gestures at Wanda to check where her sternum is. Pulling the front of her shirt at the neck, she peers down. 

"What..." Wanda mumbles. 

Both you and Natasha looked at each other before moving forward to check, Wanda holding her shirt open for the two of you. Wanda's bra was blocking part of the view, but her sternum now visibly bore the curse's inscription. The black words on her skin and then dark-colored veins prominently spreading outwards from her sternum.

"What did you do to her?!" You whip your head towards Liam, snarling at him. 

He holds his hand up to calm you down.

"Nothing dangerous, _relax_ ," he cocks his brow at you. "As I said, Alchemy is about changing one thing to something else. I used the chalk as a medium to bring the curse to the front of Wanda's body so it can be visibly seen."

When you realize Wanda's not in any imminent danger, you pull your snarl back, and the red from your eyes fade away. 

"This will help you tell when the curse is spreading. Wanda's veins will darken and spread as her cells deteriorate. Don't EVER let the dark veins spread past her chest. If you do, the curse is meant to collapse her sternum and pierce her heart. She will die." Liam warns sternly, eyebrows furrowed together, and lips in a straight line. 

"How do you know?" David asks with a slight frown.

"As I said," Liam looked at David, "Alchemy is a derivative from witch's spell or magic. The inscriptions are alchemy transmutation spells. If an alchemist has an affinity for alchemy, they can tell when it's been used on someone." Liam turns to you. "That's how I know it was Wanda that you bit."

You nod curtly. You think about how the veins were just barely protruding from her sternum, so Wanda would be relatively safe for a while since you just fed on her during the plane ride to Texas.

"What did you mean that your DNA has an affinity to the sun, moon, wind, or the earth?" Natasha asks.

You turn your attention back to Wanda, trying to inspect if she was indeed okay. It wasn't that you didn't trust Liam, but you couldn't help but worry.

All of this was your fault.

The fact that Wanda was cursed with potentially no way of getting out of this.

And the complicated mess you know would only hurt everyone in the end, so you needed to get this shit sorted out.

"It means," Liam interrupted your thoughts. "I have an extra DNA strand."

You blink.

"Honestly, I don't blame people in the past, believing alchemy was a gift or power given by God," Liam shrugs. "In a way, I guess they're not wrong. Alchemy's affinity comes from people who have an extra DNA strand from one of the natural elements. The sun, the moon, the wind, the earth." He uses his fingers to count as he speaks. "Having an extra DNA strand is a...mutation. The deformity being able to perform alchemy as a power. As you can guess, depending on what extra DNA strand you have, that's the alchemy you have an affinity to."

Natasha nods thoughtfully as she holds her chin. "I see. So the sun would be fire, the moon would be water, the wind would be air, and the earth is well...earth."

"Exactly," Liam nods.

"Leonard must've been fire," you say pensively to yourself, reminiscing. 

"What are you?" David asks Liam, licking his lips.

Liam tilts his head to the side.

"I have four extra DNA strands."

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷ 

Something has been putting you on edge since you've arrived in Vermont.

"Are you okay?" Natasha asks softly, catching you look out the window for maybe the millionth time now. 

"Yeah, sorry," you breathe, uncrossing your arms. "It's just...something feels off," you tell her quietly, as to not attract the attention from others.

Liam and Wanda were currently looking over his books and scrolls to see if he could find anything that would help Wanda while David helped them.

"What do you mean?" Natasha asks as she takes a seat on the couch's armrest, pulling you closer, so you were between her legs. She rubs your arms up and down, hoping to comfort you.

"It's just..." you start to say before you turn sharply at the window again. Natasha's brows furrow, but she has no time to ask as you barrel into her while David tackles both Liam and Wanda to the ground. 

The glass of the window shatters as a body breaks through. It happens so fast, you hardly even have time to move, but you do. 

You smell burning flesh because there's still sun out, though it's setting. A snarl rips through the air as the intruder turns and leaps toward Wanda. David gets up, forcing his feet to push off the ground as he launches towards the vampire. The two of them collide into a blurring mess. 

Natasha starts to get up, but you hold her in place.

"What--"

_"Don't,"_ you warn her. "If that thing collides into you, your body will tear apart, enhanced, or not."

You get up, running over to David as he's pinned to the ground as you rip off the vampire. 

Even with his fleshed burned, he was strong. 

Liam scrambles to get up as he grabs another chalk nearby and starts drawing another transmutation circle on the ground as fast as he can. 

You're trying with David to get the upper hand on this vampire, one locking him into place while the other tries to rip his head off.

"Wanda," Liam calls, and she turns to him with worry in her eyes as she stands in the corner, unsure of what to do. "I'm creating a prison for him. You need to use your powers to place him in here and keep him down."

"Okay," Wanda says determinedly. 

You look at David, who nods in sync with you. You both let go of the vampire at once, and Wanda lifts her hands, casting her powers over the vampire to lock it in place.

He tries to thrash in place, but it's impossible to move with Wanda's vice-like grip on him. She wobbly moves him until he's in the middle of Liam's transmutation circle. 

Liam bites in the same place of his thumb earlier, breaking the wound once more, letting a single drop of blood fall in. 

The ground starts to shake slightly as the floor where the vampire lies crumbles, giving way. The outline of the circle lights up, and suddenly, vine-like branches with spikes shoot out of the ground. It wraps around the intruding vampire, the spikes piercing his body. He screams out in pain, trying to move, but is unable to due to Liam.

The light fades, leaving the vampire bleeding out as he's trapped in his spot.

"What...was that?" Wanda asked, everyone clearly knowing that he was after her.

You help Natasha off from the ground, checking her for injuries. You find nothing other than a tiny cut on her cheek from a stray glass shard.

"I'm okay," Natasha assures you, more frustrated with herself for being unable to do anything. 

You frown, wiping off some of the blood with your glove before you turn to the offender on the ground. 

"That was so cool," David breathes as he looks at Liam, who is giving him a tiny smile.

With the vampire immobile, you could finally take a good look. 

He was somewhat sickly pale. His eyes were red, a dark red, meaning he wasn't hungry when he lunged for Wanda. 

But the thing that stood out the most to you what the prominent veins underneath his eyes.

And you've seen that before. 

"No," you frown in denial. 

"Where did you come from?" You demand, but the vampire just smirks.

You want to leap in to strangle the thing, but Liam holds your arm to hold you back. 

"Anything that steps into that circle will be roped in just like him," Liam warns.

The vampire continues to bleed out as it laughs.

"Wait--" David says, "he's actually dying. Look!"

Everyone looks to where David is pointing at, and you clench your jaw. As a vampire, the only thing that could kill you was wood from the Methuselah tree. Yet, this vampire was disintegrating, turning to dust at his toes.

The vampire looks at you, and you feel a chill down your spine.

_"How cute,"_ he tells you, voice raspy as he's disappearing. _"Looks like you have everything you've wanted."_

You furrow your brows at him.

"Do I know you?" You say, but the vampire doesn't even seem conscious of the fact that he's speaking. 

_"My love,"_ he says, looking at you, and while you revolt, there's something familiar in the way he says it. 

Like you've heard it before.

_"It seems you've learned how to want more,"_ he smiles cruelly. _"But if it's not more for the right things...then I'll show you what it's like to lose everything you have."_

Your heart drops.

"Wait!" You shout, trying to somehow get him to stay, but before you could say anything else, the vampire completely crumbles to dust, leaving nothing behind.

All of you stare at the empty space. The shackles that were holding the vampire in place disappears along with the transmutation circle.

_"No,"_ you start to say quietly. "No, no, no, no--"

"Hey!" David grabs you, trying to keep you calm.

"This can't be," you say slowly.

"What? What's wrong?" David shakes you by the shoulder a little. 

You look at him.

"That was her."

Silence.

"What?" David says, not understanding. 

You look at the ground where the vampire used to be.

"I don't know how...but that was her," you say.

"That was Tatyana."


	13. PART XIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SMUT. START AND END OF SMUT IS INDICATED BY AN ASTERISK (*). SMUT IS 18+ ONLY. READ RESPONSIBLY.

There are some pros and cons of being a vampire.

Like for one, you can't get sick. You're stronger and faster than the average human. You live longer, forever really, if you choose to or you aren't killed.

But some things aren't ideal. Like the thirst for blood. The people around you pass away before you do if you don't change them. The sun, if you don't have searings or a magical item.

And you can still have panic attacks.

Natasha is rubbing your back while Wanda is rubbing your arm after you've finally calmed down.

You were ready to punch David for asking, 'Are you sure?' multiple times, but you couldn't blame him. You also didn't want to believe that Tatyana had come back.

You kept asking yourself how, over and over again.

"How is that even possible?" David runs his hand through his hair.

"I don't know," you mumble. "I...I buried her with my own hands."

"We need to leave," Liam interrupts, having packed his bags and gesturing everyone to leave the house. There were enchantments on the door and every window. "I'll know if someone tries to enter this house, but we should head back to New York. It's not safe here anymore."

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

When you come back to New York, Tony has built most of the new compound.

"You might hear a lot of construction for a few days, but I've got your rooms prepared," he tells you before letting you know what floor you're on. "If you need anything, let FRIDAY know."

It wasn't entirely necessary since you had your own place, but you were touched Tony still thought of you. You found out quite quickly that you and Natasha shared a room together while Wanda was housed next door. David was across from you, and Liam was next to David's temporarily.

Everyone retired to their own rooms to rest and shower before reconvening in a meeting room that was a floor below them. Tony was to join them, but he was caught up in his own work at the moment. FRIDAY would report to him later regarding this meeting.

Natasha's hair was still soft and damp. She came out with a thin shirt, and you took off your sweater to wrap around her when you noticed she shivered.

"You should've worn a thicker shirt," you tell her soft voice, pulling her into your arms to keep her warm. Her back touches your front, and you feel yourself purring at the contact.

"And miss out on you giving me your sweater and keeping me warm? I think I knew what choice I made," she teases.

You smile, brushing your lips across Natasha's cheek tenderly.

"Not to be that jackass, but I think we need to focus on the problem at hand here. You guys can be disgustingly in love later," David cuts in with a small smile, and you roll your eyes.

Your eyes lock with Wanda's for a brief moment, catching a tense slightly frown on her face, but as soon as you saw it, it was gone.

"So," David breathes. "She's back."

You purse your lips, the acceptance coming easier as more time passed.

"What do we do?" David asks.

"I mean," you start, "What options do we have? We obviously have to find her, find out exactly what she's planning. You heard her. She wants to personally see me lose everything."

"We won't let her take anything," Natasha holds your hand that's embracing her.

You swallow the words of how Natasha can't promise that. She doesn't know what Tatyana is capable of.

If she could escape death, what wasn't she capable of?

"How do you think she survived?" Wanda asked from the sidelines.

You shrug. "I really don't know. I know I killed her with my own hands. I pierced her heart with wood made from the Methuselah tree because I knew that she had an absorbent amount of my venom in her body to change if I killed her. That is if it was possible to be a hybrid witch and vampire. There isn't supposed to be a way for her to come back."

"There's probably only one way she survived," Liam spoke from his seat. "In Alchemy, there's a way to transfer one's soul or consciousness elsewhere. But as Alchemy is about transforming matter or about an exchange, this technique is forbidden. Performing it would mean you've given yourself to dark alchemy."

"Why?" David asks.

"Think about it like this. You want to bring someone back to life, or you're trying to move their soul elsewhere. In Alchemy, you need something to create something or have something of equal exchange. To bring someone back to life, what do you think is the equal exchange?" Liam throws the question to everyone.

"Someone else has to die," Natasha murmured.

"Exactly, and that's if it's even successful." Liam nodded. "So in the essence that you're trying to move a soul somewhere else, where would you move it. Whose body will you move it into? Where will their soul go?"

"Could you move it into like an AI body?" Natasha asked.

Liam shook his head. "You could temporarily bind a soul into an AI body, but that's only temporarily. A human soul isn't compatible with an AI body, so eventually, they'll separate. It's not the same thing as whatever Tony and Thor created."

"You mean Vision?" Wanda supplies, and you find yourself grimacing.

"Sure," Liam nonchalantly agrees, not really caring. "So," he carries on, "If we have dark alchemy that has these practices, then the equivalent for witches and warlocks would be..."

"Dark magic," Wanda breathes, and Liam nods once more.

The revelation doesn't entirely surprise you. A part of you has perhaps always known that Tatyana was practicing black magic. Forcefully turning people into vampires by magic was a significant indicator.

But you were surprised that Tatyana was able to use dark magic to revive herself. A part of you wondered if she even ever really died.

"So, what are our next steps?" David asks.

"We have to find her," you sigh.

"How? She could be anywhere, and we don't have a single clue. I can try to see if I can find anything, but she could be in literally anyone's body," David frowns.

Liam is holding his chin as he sways in his chair. "It might take time, but I could see if I can find a locating spell.

"I believe I may have some scrolls and notes from Leo. He used to jot down everything he did. Perhaps you could find something there," you let Liam know. "I'll drop them off for you."

Liam looked mildly excited about the news and nodded his head.

"Alright, that's enough for today. Everyone should get some rest. It may be a while before we get to again," you adjourn the meeting.

Everyone begins to shuffle out of the room, but you notice that Wanda stays behind, looking fraught with frustration. You nod your head at Natasha to let her know you would meet with her later in your shared room. Natasha nods as she walks away, leaving you alone with Wanda.

Wanda doesn't seem to realize you've stayed behind with her as you approach her. She's biting her thumbnail as she stares at the table listlessly, lost in her own world.

"Terrible habit, don't do that," you admonish gently as you grab hold of her hand to pull it away from her mouth.

Wanda looks up, shocked to see you for a moment.

"Having terrible nails is the least of our problems right now," Wanda gives you a rather tired smile. Wanda lowers her hand but curls her fingers so she can hold your hand.

The action makes you swallow.

"You seem more stressed about it than you should be," you tell her, giving her hand a tight squeeze of comfort. A friendly tight squeeze of comfort you tell yourself.

Wanda gives a humorless chuckle. "Can you blame me? What is she? My great-great-grandmother?"

"It's possible she could be your great-great-great-grandmother," you try to say to lighten the mood, and it sort of works when Wanda gives an exasperated smile.

"This is must be hard for you," Wanda says, tone full of empathy for you.

You sigh and nod.

"Honestly, no matter how she came back, it doesn't change the fact that I hurt and killed her. I don't blame her for being angry," you confide to Wanda.

The brunette moves to sit on the edge of the table as she pulls you closer.

"You know, when we were being attacked back in Vermont, and she spoke to you, I feel like I recognized that behavior," Wanda looks down at your hand in hers, staring at the glove that covered it. "I don't think she's angry at you," Wanda tells you truthfully. "She wants to punish you, yes, but she's not angry. I think she's still very much in love with and wants you."

"I can't really imagine why," you say, half-joking with an upturn of your lip.

Wanda pulls you closer until you're at the edge of the table between her legs.

It's wrong, you tell yourself, starting to pull away.

But Wanda pulls you into a hug.

You're stunned, not expecting it to be a hug at all.

You feel a hand patting your back in a slow rhythm and fingers delicately playing with the ends of your hair. You're not sure why, but the action makes the back of your eyes burn.

The scent of orange blossoms and cinnamon fills you, and you notice that Wanda's hair feels soft too.

"Don't say that," Wanda says like it's her turn to scold you. Her chin rests over your shoulder. "I don't blame her; it's very easy to."

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

"Can't sleep?"

You open your eyes and turn your head to look at Natasha. She's lying on her side, head resting on the crook of her arm as she faces you.

"Guilty," you smile sheepishly.

Natasha smiles as she opens her arms, and you immediately slide right into her. Your face rests gently on her chest as you both wrap your arms around each other. She kisses the top of your head lightly, and you sigh blissfully.

Natasha hums as your lips touch her bare skin.

"What's got you up?" The redhead asks. "Other than the fact your homicidal ex has come back to haunt you."

You actually manage to chuckle, the sounds vibrating off of Natasha's skin as she pulls the blanket up higher.

"I guess a little bit of everything. This brings back a lot of memories," you tell your girlfriend. "Some bad, but some good too."

"Like what?" Natasha asks patiently.

"Good memories like Leo," you smile softly. "I spent my days around him after Tatyana was gone."

Natasha hums but doesn't say anything as you continue talking.

"I was pretty miserable and lonely after Tatyana was gone. Leo never joined The Vatican no matter how much they persisted and kept me a secret," you reminisce.

"That's really wonderful of him," Natasha comments.

"Yeah, but also I had to deal with his incessant teachings of God, so don't get too starry-eyed about him," you look up slightly and squint your eye at her.

"You're so cute when you're jealous about your deceased friend," Natasha laughs when you pinch her side slightly.

_"Behave,"_ you tell her with a smirk that she returns.

_"As I was saying,"_ you return, looking at her pointedly, and Natasha resists the urge to giggle. "I never quite devoted myself the way I think Leo hoped, but I did feed on animals during that time."

"Animals?" Natasha said in a shocked tone like that hadn't quite occurred to her that you could. "How was that?"

"It tastes like literal piss," you tell her with no hesitation. "People are always using metaphors about how a vampire's diet could be compared to humans. Like drinking animal blood is going vegetarian."

You roll your eyes, and Natasha thinks it's so endearing you're so passionate about this. "It's not the same. I can't sautée animal blood in butter and call it a day. Plus, not even to mention how much more blood volume it takes to feel full, and how much more often you have to feed to be safe."

"Squirrel blood not cutting it for you?" Natasha teases, laughing once more when you scrunch your nose.

"I, alone, would end up making squirrels extinct if I could only feed on them," you tell her.

Natasha laughs, moving her legs so she could tangle them in yours.

"Alright, point taken," she says. "Tell me more about Leo."

You hum, shifting yourself to get more comfortable. How you wish you could just meld into Natasha.

"Eventually, Leo did manage to find a way for me to go out in the sun."

Natasha blinks languidly, her hands travel down your back until she finds your ribs, remembering on the x-rays she saw inscriptions there.

You pleasantly hum in the back of your throat at the touch. "Searings are done by a holy knife and fire. He carved it into my skin, and it burned through until it reached my bones."

"That sounds so painful," Natasha mumbles with a slight frown. You smile at her, rubbing circles on her back to soothe her.

"It was worth it, though," you reassure her.

"Did you stay with him until he passed?" Natasha quietly asked, feeling you nod against her skin.

"Yes, I stayed by his side as he met the love of his life, had children, and grew old," you tell her.

"What was his wife like?"

You smile, keeping your eyes closed and remembering it like it was just yesterday.

"Christine was a spitfire," you laugh. "Totally led Leo by his nose. She had absolutely no patience for any nonsense."

You see wisps of long dark brown hair and a pair of blue eyes in your mind, and you smile softly. "But the thing I loved about her was she was kind and compassionate about everything."

"Sounds like Leo got a total winner," Natasha drags her fingers through your hair lightly, enjoying the way you sigh contently.

"Oh, most definitely. It's kind of funny. She didn't even give Leo the time of day when he first started to pursue her. She thought he was a total player since young women from his parish really, really...admired him."

"Oh?" Natasha laughed. "And what changed her mind?"

"A group of vampires kidnapped her, wanting to get revenge on Leo for one of their coven member who was killed by him," you sighed. "At the time Leo and I were investigating another town when we had gotten word she was taken."

"Oh, god," Natasha dreaded.

"I had never seen Leo looked so stricken with fear, even when death was knocking at his door. He turned to me, ready to beg me to save her because he wouldn't have been able to reach her fast enough, and there was still another vampire loose in the town we were investigating," you say. "By then, I had long considered Leo a friend, and before he could ask, I went to find her."

"You saved her," Natasha surmises and smiles. You shift again, so you're able to look at Natasha's face while still being in her embrace.

"Yes, gruesome as it was, they were waiting for Leo to arrive to kill her. Other than some cuts, bruises, and a broken leg, she made it unscathed. I carried her all the way back, and Leo met us halfway," you lick your lips. "He was sweaty and gross from running the entire way, even though his legs clearly wanted to give out since they were shaking like jelly. But the second I put her down, he ran until she was in his arms."

Your hand drifts up Natasha's arm before they come to rest upon the side of her neck. "He cried, so thankful she was alive and safe. I think that's when Christine realized he loved her, very seriously loved her."

Natasha's eyes were drooping from your soft touch and the feeling of security falling over her. She pulls you closer.

"Family," Natasha mutters, and you kiss the tip of her nose.

"Yes," you tell her just before she falls asleep.

You look at Natasha with half-lidden eyes, pulling the blanket until it's up to your chin. The quiet time with Natasha brings peace. You close your own eyes, ready to follow Natasha just as you reminisce about the end of that memory.

_"I don't care," Leonard declares, sitting on the ground with you after having made it back to his home safely. "You come to this family when you need help. My children's-children's-children's-childr--"_

_"I get the idea, Leo," you interrupt him, leaning back on the grass as you look at the night sky. The sound of the pond rippling as leaves fall into it makes way to your ears. "Whatever," you mumble. "I guess I'll make sure the mini priests you create don't die prematurely."_

_He chuckles, and a moment of silence falls over the two of you._

_"This probably sounds crazy, maybe even a little sacrilegious, but I feel like you're my guardian angel. Meeting you was a blessing from God," Leonard says as he looks at you with a smile._

_"That does sound sacrilegious," you smirk._

_"I'll be your guardian angel too," Leonard declares proudly like it's the best idea he's ever come up with._

_"You're going to die long before me," you roll your eyes._

_"So?" Leonard says indignantly, "That just means I can be your literal guardian angel after."_

_"I don't know if God will let you into heaven after your little sacrilegious comment," you cackle quietly when Leonard rolls his eyes and throws loose strands of grass at you. "Besides, what would I need a guardian angel for?"_

_Leonard shrugs, falling back into a relaxed position. "I don't know, but I'll be there when you need it the most."_

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

The following few weeks pass with little to no progress in finding Tatyana. Liam spent a lot of his time studying Leonard's scrolls and diary notes while David tried to trace the vampire's steps who had attacked you in Vermont.

Natasha spent her time between helping Liam, David and doing her own investigative work.

You were beginning to feel at a loss about what to do. It was starting to feel like the only option was to wait until Tatyana sought you out again.

"You're distracted."

The slight tug on your hair made you release your bite as you peer up at Wanda's face. She's flushed, but she's got her brow cocked at you. You sigh, breath upon her collarbone as you stand up straighter.

"Can you check if..." You clear your throat, pointedly looking down at her chest. "If you're good."

Wanda continues to cock her brow at you as she pulls her shirt open to check while you're still there, leaning against her.

Getting a full view down her shirt, you notice the dark veins have receded, and you don't see anything except Wanda's bra covered chest and the curse inscription peeking out through the valley of her breasts.

You sigh, "You can just check yourself, and just tell me, you know."

"You're not afraid I'll lie?" Wanda licks her lips with a small jilt of her lips.

"Why would you ever lie about the curse not spreading?" You frown.

Wanda smirks, bringing her hand up to your mouth. She uses her thumb to wipe at her blood that's coating your lips.

"I wouldn't lie about it not spreading, милый," Wanda smirks, and you understand very quickly what she means by it.

"You want to pass out from blood loss?" You weakly say back with a half-smile.

"As long as you catch me."

You take a moment, catching yourself staring into Wanda's eyes. It was late in the evening, and Wanda left her face bare all day.

She looked young without her usual dark eyeliner, but her lashes were still long, framing her green eyes.

You swallowed, pulling away.

"Of course." You looked away at the door and then back at Wanda. "We should get cleaned up. Meet me in the kitchen, and I'll whip you something up to eat."

Without saying anything else, you left.

It's not for another hour that Wanda joins you in the kitchen. The smell hits her instantly, and she knows right away.

"Paprikash?" She says, almost confusedly as she looks at you.

You hum, scooping a ladle full into a bowl for her. You serve it to her with a side of boiled potatoes with paprika seasoning and a Gatorade to drink.

Wanda takes a seat, and you almost laugh at how adorably hesitant she looks.

"Eat up," you tell her with a smile. "This will help you recover."

Wanda takes her spoon, scooping some chicken onto her spoon with plenty of sauce.

"It's delicious," she tells you, eating more heartily. "I haven't had someone cook for me in a very long time."

Wanda says it so nonchalantly like it doesn't bother her, but you feel your heart breaking a little.

"Pietro doesn't cook?" You ask instead.

"Not if we want to live," she says, cracking a smile when you laugh. "I didn't know you could cook."

"Not as good as David," you shrug, "but you learn a thing or two well enough when you have all the time in the world."

Wanda swallows her food and washes it down with a gulp of Gatorade.

"Well," she licks her lip. "I can't wait to see what else you know."

And lately, you find a lot of silences have been falling around. Your heart is thudding in your chest as Wanda stares at you.

"Ahem."

The sound catches you off guard surprisingly, and you look up to see Natasha standing there.

"Hey," she greets the two of you. "Smells good in here."

"Yes," Wanda nods. "Elaine made some paprikash for me."

"I see," Natasha says as she walks to you.

"Would you like some?" You ask the redhead. "I made it to help Wanda after the feeding session."

"No, it's okay. David picked up some food for us earlier, but maybe save me a bowl for later," Natasha kisses your cheek, and you nod.

Natasha looks over at Wanda, who is staring at her food.

"Anyways, I came as I think David found something. He wants to meet in the west wing when you're done here."

You look at Wanda, who is nearly finishing up her food.

"It's fine," Wanda waves off, taking another sip of her Gatorade. "I'll meet you guys later once I'm finished up here. It shouldn't be too long."

You purse your lips, wondering if you should just wait until she's done eating to all walk there, but Wanda is already waving you off again as she eats.

"Alright," you concede, "don't take too long."

Wanda nods again, not looking as you and Natasha leave. Once she's alone in the room, she rubs her forehead, feeling an oncoming headache that has been trailing for her a couple days.

She sighs.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

"So, you can cook."

Your head doesn't move, but your eyes peer over to Natasha, who is looking straight ahead.

"Yes," you answer, looking back ahead as you continue to walk. "Not as well as David, but I can."

"It smelled delicious," Natasha mumbled.

"As I said, you are welcomed to a bowl."

Natasha shakes her head.

"No," she lightly exhales. "That seemed like it was meant for Wanda." Natasha pauses but then adds, "To help her recover."

"Did you want me to make something for you?" You ask as you start to approach the meeting room where you could hear Liam and David inside.

Natasha shrugs. "I think I'm more of a fan of your coffee," she smiles gently at you.

You return it with your own smile, unsure of what to think of the entire interaction before the two of you enter the room.

Liam was eating a burrito while David was hunched over a monitor.

"Hey," David says, looking up at you. His hair sways slightly before coming back into place. "Where's Wanda?"

"She's on her way. She's just finishing up her meal," you say, and David nods.

"Natasha says you might've found something?"

David starts pulling up a report on the holographic scenes when Wanda comes in, a slight swagger in her walk as she swings the leftover Gatorade back and forth in her hand.

Your brows pinch together, unfurling when Wanda takes a seat next to you, focused on the screen before her.

"There was a report submitted to the local NYPD department this morning. A company is reporting that their employees have been going missing. I think just about four in the last month," David says, but you're focused on reading the report.

"Missing?" Natasha muttered.

"I believe three went on vacation and never came back, and one just stopped showing up to work," David tells them. "All of them had initially reported being sick for a couple days and then stopped showing up. The manager says they can't get in touch with any of them."

"What about where they live? Family? Friends?" You ask.

"Landlord says rent has been paid, so there's no worry there. Most of these people are quiet individuals. Either no family or a very small circle of friends," David sat back in his chair.

"And the friends haven't reported anything?" You frown.

"Most of them aren't in touch often, but there was one person who reported his friend missing in addition to the company," David flips through the screen.

"Why do you think it would be Tatyana?" Natasha asks.

You stand up, placing the report back in front of David.

"There are too many missing people in one place, specifically this company. If she's looking to continue with her plan, then we need to find out. Even if it's not her, then there's some serial kidnapper out there," you say.

"Do you think it's a human, if not her?" Wanda asks.

"I won't know for sure until I check it out. Usually, vampires don't repeatedly hunt in the same location; otherwise, they risk being caught," you purse your lips.

"I put you three into the company as new workers. You start tomorrow," David tells you.

"All three of us?" You tilt your head.

"It's a company with over 500 people. It's a lot of groundwork. The faster we can find information, the better," David shrugs.

"Alright, let's try to get some work done before tomorrow," you say.

"I'll work with David," Natasha tells you, and you nod.

"I'll have Wanda work with me," Liam looks at the brunette who nods and gets up.

"Sounds good. I'm going to make some calls and get some things done, too," you tell them before looking at Natasha. "I'll meet you later."

You walk out the room, holding your sigh until you're far away enough from everyone.

You sit outside the compound. The construction for the day was already done, leaving you in the quiet. Pulling out your phone, you dialed a number before holding it up to your ear.

_"Hello?"_ The person on the other line answered breathlessly.

"Am I interrupting anything, solider?" You ask with a teasing voice, but also half-serious.

_"Oh, no, not at all. Just casually chasing down my long-life friend who doesn't remember me at this current moment. What's up?"_ Steve asked as you could hear him running in the background.

"I can call back, Steve--"

_"No, no, I've always got time for you,"_ Steve interrupted. _"Pietro runs faster, anyway."_

You chuckle before you take a long breath.

_"That's quite the breath,"_ Steve comments, earning him another long breath from you.

"I'm not going to lie, it fucking sucks here," you say quietly.

_"Yeah, Nat updated me a little on the situation. Need me to come home?"_ Steve asks, and you shake your head before remembering he can't see you.

"No, not yet, anyway," you say. "It's just...really stressful. Outside of having my ex come back to destroy me and all."

_"You want to elaborate on that?"_ Steve says, and you hear some weird metal clanking noise in the back.

"I just..." you sigh. "I'm doing my best."

You swallow.

"And I still feel like I'm always on the verge of disappointing Natasha."

Steve listens patiently on the other end.

You take a shaky breath.

"Why isn't love ever easy?" You ask, mostly in rhetoric.

But you hear Steve give a short-winded chuckle on the other end.

"If it was, we'd never learn how to become courageous."

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

By the time you meet up with everyone else, it's well into the night, sitting at 2AM.

You walk back into the meeting room to find that Wanda is the only one in the room, and she looks exhausted.

"Where is everyone?" You ask as you take a seat next to her.

"David and Natasha are still working on a couple last things for tomorrow. Liam decided to run to his room the moment he decided we've done enough for the day," Wanda tells you.

"Why are you still here?" You ask.

Wanda shrugs, looking downwards.

It's quiet, and you find yourself relaxing a little. For a moment, there's a rare peace between the two of you. No flirting. No intensity.

No guilt.

But you find yourself looking over at Wanda, who's looking down at her black nails, hair falling over her shoulder while it's swooped delicately over her ear.

Sometimes you hate that you notice these things about her; her long lashes, soft skin, and green eyes that are different than the ones that currently belong to you.

But more than that, you notice the deeper things. The youth that seems to have been taken away too early. And still, despite that all, the hopeful gleam that's shy and hesitant. The first bloom that dares to better than yesterday.

It makes you--

Wanda sharply looks at you.

Your breath hitches quietly, thoughts paused.

The quiet stretches on. Wanda stares at you with piercing dark green eyes as if she's searching for something in you.

And you pray she doesn't find it.

You don't know how long it is that you spent staring at each other, but eventually, Wanda swallows before taking a shaky breath.

"I have feelings for you. I can't stop myself from having feelings for you, and I want you."

The confession hits you in the back of your throat, and you turn away. 

"Wanda--"

"No," she cuts you short. "I'm not letting you run away this time."

You swallow.

"I know," Wanda says quietly. "I know you're with Natasha. But you can't sit there and tell me you don't feel something for me."

Your throat feels dry.

"So," Wanda swallows while she looks at you. "Be honest with me. Tell me what you feel when you look at me. When you touch me."

The words ring painfully in your ears, heart thudding harshly in your chest. You're suddenly clenching the armrests of your chair tightly.

"I can't," are the only words the leave your mouth.

Before Wanda can say anything else, the door swings open, and Natasha walks through the room.

Looking at the two of you, she tilts her head, and you wonder immediately how much she's heard.

"We're done for the day," Natasha says as if she didn't notice the tension in the room. "Let's get some rest for tomorrow."

You nod, and without saying anything else, you get up to leave with Natasha.

And you don't dare to look back.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

She blew it.

She knows it.

It was rash and absolutely selfish and insane.

Wanda lies in her bed at the edge, legs dangling to the floor as she stares at the blank ceiling. She wants to mumble to herself, asking why did she do that, but she's scared you'll hear her being next door.

So instead, she takes a deep breath, releasing it stressfully as she lifts her hands to her face.

It was one thing to tease and flirt with you, but lately, Wanda feels like she can't control her own emotions.

From the first time she saw you, something in her shifted, and Wanda knew she would never be the same again. You had started as a simple crush, intense as it may have been.

But could anyone blame Wanda? You barely knew her, and yet, you were saving her. You cared for her.

And then...Wanda just...fell.

You had Natasha; Wanda knew that. She could tell how much you loved the redhead. And when Wanda looked at Natasha, there was an uncomfortable pit in her stomach that she didn't quite know how to place.

Wanda wondered if it was jealousy because her mind would tell her that she wanted you.

And Wanda spends too much time wondering how you felt when you kissed Natasha, touched her. Probably as much time as she spends wondering how Natasha feels when she kisses or touches you.

Wanda hates it.

She hates not feeling in control of her own emotions, hates it when they spill out like she can't help it.

And Wanda wonders if she's slowly going insane.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

Stiff.

Natasha notices you're lying stiffly on her your back, staring at the ceiling while she lies on her side, staring at you.

The two of you probably only lie in bed for twenty minutes before you turn to her.

"Can we go back to my place for tonight?" You ask her quietly.

Natasha doesn't ask why, which you're thankful for, as she nods and gets up with you.

The ride back is quiet, which you're not sure what to make of it. Natasha was quiet when you left with her earlier to retire to the room the two of you shared. She was quiet as the two of you did your nightly routine, and she was quiet when she slipped into bed.

But the two of you knew there probably wouldn't be much sleep tonight as you arrived at your place. You opened the door for Natasha, letting her enter first.

When you slipped past her to make your way to the basement, she followed.

Natasha could tell you were tired, the kind that wore you down. And she knew what had happened.

After all, she stood on the other side of the door, listening. She realized the two of you were too caught up in the conversation to notice her.

But how she felt about it was unexpected, even for her.

Natasha watches as you walk over to the bar, her eyes catching your fingers clenching and unclenching.

As always, you wore the gloves.

And her heart swells.

Even though Natasha knew why you wore the gloves, she couldn't help but desire your touch.

She wanted to feel your fingers on her bare skin, to open herself to you. Natasha wanted you to know every thought she had so you could know the thoughts she had about you; she wanted you to see a part of her future, so you would know you were a part of it.

Natasha wondered if she was always this desperate.

She watched you pour yourself a glass of whiskey, drinking somberly.

_"While alcohol doesn't affect me, it still burns the same,"_ you told her.

It was hard, Natasha could tell. It was hard for you to draw the line with Wanda, someone who looked like Tatyana's spitting image--yet was distinctively not her. And you liked that.

It didn't help that Wanda had wanted you too.

But such things never stopped Natasha because she knows you want her too. As much as you may try to keep your feelings in check, try to keep yourself from crossing the line too far, you had always looked at Natasha a moment too long.

Natasha saunters up to you, grabbing your attention as you looked at her, still somber but softer. The redhead grabs your fingers, kissing the tip of your gloves.

You bite your tongue in your mouth.

Natasha takes the glass from your other hand, taking a languid swig herself before she puts the glass down on the table. She leans onto you, pressing her body against yours as she tilts her lips to kiss you.

The strong taste of whiskey enters your mouth, but you also taste a raspberry hint, something you find Natasha seems to always taste like.

Your first thought is that you shouldn't.

Not when you're a selfish coward.

Whiskey drips down the side of your mouth, and Natasha has nothing left in her own as she swipes her tongue at your lip.

The reaction is visceral. You immediately push closer, pressing your lips firmer against Natasha's, backing her up until she hits the table.

You lift her up onto it with ease, her cami nightgown bunching up at her sides as she pulls you between her legs.

Your one hand moves to grip her waist while Natasha holds your other hand down on the table as you lean more into her. She brings up your other hand, breaking the kiss as she bites the tip of your glove, slowly pulling it off.

You tense.

_"Nat,"_ you husk, deep with desire but not wanting to push the boundaries.

But Natasha has long decided to cross them, decidedly wanting to take you with her.

"I _want_ you to touch me," she emphasizes, and you catch the underlying words. Natasha wants you to touch her with your bare fingers; she wants you to drag them down her skin and let her feel you as you fucked her.

You can _smell_ her arousal.

Your eyes darken, a low rumble in the back of your throat.

She pulls off your glove, tossing it to the side carelessly.

Natasha has seen your fingers before. During times of your carelessness, she would catch sight of your fingers in the morning when she just woke up, and you were making breakfast, and sometimes right after your shower.

But to feel them...it's completely different.

Natasha pushes the pads of your index and middle finger to her lips, your eyes fluttering as you hear every thought she's ever had.

But all you can really focus on right now is her most recent thought.

_'I love you.'_

And when she takes your fingers into her mouth, her warm tongue caressing your fingers as she sucks, you follow what the future tells you.

You'll do anything to be between the lines with her.

You pull your fingers away, using them to press her closer to you as you smash your lips against Natasha's in a rough and needy manner.

_God,_ now you couldn't stop touching her skin with your bare fingers. Natasha's skin feels hot as you use the pads of your fingers to scrape down her bare arms or up her naked thighs.

Everything about Natasha overrides your rational thoughts, and you want nothing more than to be consumed by her.

Natasha tangles her hand in your hair, grasping it lightly as she pushes back against your lips with her own.

You stop kissing her but don't move an inch away. Natasha's breathless and her warm breath on your lips as she pants does something to you.

Desire pools in your gut, but something fierce pours into your heart.

"I love you," you tell her, the words vibrating between the two of you.

You want her to desperately understand that.

"I love you, Nat," you say again, squeezing her hips tightly. "I will never stop loving you."

And Natasha lets her forehead fall against yours. She smiles, the action making her lips brush against yours.

"I know," she replies.

*

The words bring a deep and sharp lust in you, shaking you to your core.

Your hands travel to her back as you grip her cami nightgown, ripping it apart with a strong force until it's into two separate pieces.

The cold air hits Natasha instantly, her nipples hardening as she shivers. Your lips attach themselves to her neck, licking before sucking.

Natasha's soft moans fill the room.

You stroke her skin, wanting to feel every inch, and Natasha rushes to pull your shirt over your head, wanting to feel you too.

A rumble in the back of your throat makes its way to Natasha's ears when her warm hand touches your bare shoulder.

You lower your hands to Natasha's rear as you pull her off the counter, getting her to wrap her legs around you as you carry her.

Walking over to the pulled-out sofa couch, you laid Natasha on it, taking off the remainder of your clothes before covering her bare body with your own.

Tilting her chin to face you, you kissed her, slow and hard. You grind into her, earning a rough moan in the back of Natasha's throat as you kissed.

A hand rests at the back of Natasha's neck as you cradled her, while the other takes hold of her chest. The mound fitting perfectly in your hand as you squeeze and massage, occasionally rolling the hard pebble of her nipple with the pad of your index finger.

Wetness pools between Natasha's legs as she lifts her hips slightly in an attempt to get more friction from you.

Your hand releases Natasha's chest as it travels down, not skimping at the chance to feel the tautness of her stomach. Fingers hit the fabric of Natasha's underwear, and you dipped your fingers into it, not shy at all about touching Natasha's slick folds brazenly.

Natasha's breath hitches in the back of her throat, hips canting at how good it feels.

"Oh..." She moans, her arms tightening around your neck slightly.

You breathe deeply at the sound in your ear, the coils in your stomach tightening.

Your fingers slide up and down between the wet folds repeatedly, teasing her entrance while your thumb pressed and rubbed her clit. Natasha's slick fluids coat your fingers, dripping into your hand.

You begin to drop lower until your mouth is lined up with Natasha's chest, and you take the swollen pebble into your mouth. The hotness of your mouth makes Natasha grip your hair. She can feel her sex getting swollen with need.

You suck relentlessly on both breasts, living dark hickeys all over her chest that make you absolutely possessive for her when you look at your work.

Hot kisses trail down Natasha's body until your bottom lip touches the edge of Natasha's underwear. They're entirely ruined by the overflow of Natasha's wetness, and you lick your lips.

You raise yourself, hovering higher over Natasha's lower body. Taking your fingers out, you put them in your mouth and suck.

Natasha bites her tongue as she looks at you, tasting her.

Your heavy-lidden, lust-driven eyes catch Natasha's as you release your clean fingers. Her chest rises and falls noticeably, breathless even though the best part is yet to happen.

Lowering yourself, you loop your fingers around the sides of her underwear, just lowering them slightly so you can kiss her mound.

Without warning, you rip her panties to shreds, exposing Natasha's naked sex to you. You can feel the heat radiating off Natasha, hear the other woman's heartbeat thudding loudly in your ears.

You hook your arms under her thighs, hands coming over to grip her legs apart. Pulling her open and closer to your face, you pepper kisses to the inside of Natasha's thigh, nibbling on the sensitive skin. You trail closer and closer to her sex, hearing Natasha's breathy moans as she's been long ready for you to do _something._

You take a moment just to appreciate how needy Natasha's looks before you, wet and dripping with her hands over her head as she grips the throw pillow above her.

You dip your head, tongue coming out as you start at her entrance before moving up, opening her folds.

Natasha's hands immediately fly to grip your head, fingers tangled in your hair.

"God," she fumbles as she hisses, _"yes."_

Natasha tastes absolutely divine to you. Her legs tense, her natural reaction to close, and you tighten your grip on her thighs to open them before you.

Natasha's making a mess of noises as you eat her out, tongue flattening, or lashing at her clit, or when you use your mouth to suck on her. Your hands eventually move to her hips as you begin to massage them.

Natasha lets out a cry as her hips buck instantly, the harsh wave of her orgasm rushing over her without warning. Her legs tremble by the intensity, and your mouth only allowing her to take it and ride it out.

Everything feels overly sensitive when you release her hardened nub, licking your lips clean as you come up.

Natasha's breathing raggedly, but you still kiss her, stealing the little air she has. Your arm slides under her neck, your hand gripping the back of her hair as you pull back firmly.

The kiss breaks, and Natasha moans. Your half on your side, pressed against Natasha as your leg hooks over Natasha's, pulling them slightly open. Your hand was massaging her hip before they slide back between her lips.

"I'm not done with you," you lower your head and bite her earlobe.

Natasha whines slightly at the pain and arousal.

"No, I can't anymore--" Natasha wasn't prepared for such an intense first orgasm, her sex feeling sensitive to the touch.

"Yes, you can," you breathe into her ear, already sliding her fingers between her folds, circling her clit when you reached the top. "Because look at you, Nat. I can smell how bad you want it. Your hips are moving with my fingers, just begging for me to fuck you."

Natasha screws her eyes shut, head-turning to the side away from you as if that would somehow subside what the dirty words do to her.

You press your lips at the edge of her jaw under her ear, and Natasha can feel you smirking against her skin. Your hand slides against her scalp to re-grip her hair.

"Don't tell me you thought you could get away with only cumming once."

A strangled moan hits the back of Natasha's throat as you slide your fingers down to her entrance, circling around it once before you thrust two fingers in roughly.

"I don't think I'll ever get enough of touching you now that I have," you murmur against her jaw. "I think I'm obsessed with hearing your thoughts about me."

You thrust with a consistent rough rhythm, driving Natasha's closer to the edge. With how overly sensitive Natasha was, it wasn't hard for you to draw her second release when you curl your fingers and use your thumb to press against her clit.

Natasha lets out a sharp whine. Your lips travel to her neck, resting on the vein as you let it thrum against your lips. Your eyes flutter as you focus on the blood rushing through Natasha's veins, taunting, and teasing you. You inhale her scent deeply as she reaches her peak and comes down.

Your grip on Natasha's hair releases as your arm slides until her head is resting on your bicep. You hand curls over, your fingers nudging Natasha to look at you. *

She's still coming down from her high, unmeasured breaths escaping her as you press a quick kiss to her lips. Then press your lips against her nose lightly, her cheeks, and over her eyelids.

And when Natasha looks at you, you turn completely on your side as you help her turn with you, pulling her close.

Your hand rests on her neck.

Nose to nose with shared air, you confess to her.

"My love for you will always be more than one lifetime."

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

The two of you fade in and out of sleep the rest of the night, Natasha wanting to return the favor to you, but you insisted another night with how exhausted you made her.

You spend the rest of the night naked on the couch, blanket over the two of you as you held Natasha in your arms. It was barely dawn, and the two of you were softly awake as you played with Natasha's hair lightly with one hand.

She lay in your arms, head resting in the crook of your neck, her hand draped over your stomach. Natasha decided she loved this intimacy more than anything as your other hand stroked her arm across your stomach.

You kiss the crown of her head.

"I love you," you say, and Natasha smiles.

"I know, I love you too," Natasha huskily murmurs and then swallows. "But I know you also want Wanda."

Natasha feels your hands pause, and she licks her lips before she sits up halfway to look at you.

You're frowning.

"Nat--"

_"It's okay,"_ Natasha cuts you off reassuringly.

_"How is that okay?"_ You ask her frustratedly, pulling your hands away as you press them against your face.

Natasha rests on her side, lifting her hands to pull yours away from your sullen face.

She presses a kiss to your fingers. "Because I know your feelings for her don't mean that you have any less feelings for me."

Natasha sighs. "I don't blame you for wanting her. She is a curious little thing."

"You aren't jealous of her?"

Natasha lulls her head to look at you.

"I don't know if jealous is the right word," Natasha licks her lips before looking straight forward. "I suppose I don't really know what I feel about her still. Sometimes she drives me insane. She's as brazen as she is curious, and she doesn't even try to hide the fact that she wants you even though she knows we're together."

You open your mouth to speak, but Natasha turns to look at you again, giving you a look to not defend Wanda. You snap your mouth shut.

"But that being said, I know you want her, but you deny yourself of it," Natasha's eyes soften. "You like her when I know you can love her too, but won't let yourself because of me."

You start to deny it, but Natasha squeezes your fingers.

"I know you love me," Natasha tells you. "And because I love you, I don't want to ever be the reason you withhold your love. I think it's a wonderful thing you have such a great capacity to love."

Natasha smiles. "Your love is like..." Natasha tilts her head. "Like pie! You never take away slices; you simply create more pies."

You look at Natasha blinking before you finding yourself laughing.

"That's the weirdest analogy ever," you tell her, and Natasha only grins wider.

Then Natasha grows a little serious. "I'm telling you it's okay. So, promise me you'll talk to Wanda and let yourself experience what may happen."

You stare at Natasha for a long moment before you release a light sigh, bringing her hands up to press a kiss to her knuckles.

"You are much, _much_ too good to me."

Natasha smiles.

"As I promised you, you have nothing to fear when it comes to loving me and letting me love you."


End file.
